Zoo Co (co-produced with Improbable) brought ‘Perfect Show for Rachel’ to The Crucible Theatre Playhouse this week, and what a delight it is to have this production on Sheffield stages this February. The show is a beautiful evening of unrestrained creative exploration and recreation.
As we enter the full cast are on stage, very relaxed and smiley as they allow the audience to filter into their pastel coloured living room stage space. An electronic drum-kit, piano and guitar stand upon a small raised area. Rachel O’Mahoney is the director, the all seeing eye, the creative arbiter and final say of this show. She sits behind a large desk adorned with dozens (some 40+) buttons. Her art adorns the walls, and her face is live streamed to a couple TVs attached to a colourful set evoking recreation rooms with playhouse-style doors at the back.
Lead artist, and Rachel’s sister, Flo O’Mahoney introduces the work. She explains eloquently and in good humour that this show is not for us, the audience – the clue was in the title and they warned us. Rachel, quite frankly, ‘doesn’t care what you think’ – and that’s true to a large extent, but not in the way it may seem. Rachel is learning disabled and lives in a care home, and this show is an opportunity to give Rachel full agency and autonomy. Simply put, Rachel presses a button to initiate a scene. The cast have prepared some scenes, whereas others are improvisational. Either way, Rachel is the only one who can dictate this. As Flo explains, sometimes Rachel might not press a button for a while, in which case they won’t do anything until she does. Sometimes, she’ll press the same button over and over again, in which case they will do the same thing over and over again. It truly is the perfect show for Rachel.
Zoo Co are truly a company who don’t just pay lip service to accessibility in the arts. All their productions are relaxed productions, and we are briefed on this, and the rehearsed scenes at Rachel’s disposal are all adorned with creative captioning as well as live captioning for Rachel’s own directions in the show. BSL is featured throughout, with cast members Stephen Collins and Becky Barry consistently rotating whilst the rest of the performers also contribute. Fantastically, their service to access is symbiotic, and audience members who do not need adjustments get just as much as those who may do.
What ensues is chaotic, liberating, sweet, humorous and ultimately enjoyable. It’s fun. The cast commit fantastically to their bits and the many hats they wear, and this level of commitment and shared understanding also enables any instances of brief audience interaction to feel so seamless and natural. Objectively there are some great theatrical set pieces in this – almost all of the music is played live, many comedic scenes are delivered in great melodramatic enthusiasm, and this group’s ability to improvise under unique duress is impressive. They’re fluid and lucid, and it captures our imagination and desire to engage.
The production is excellently conceived and designed. There are so many variables in its nature and therefore many things that could ‘go wrong’ – either theatrically or practically or even from an access point of view – but Zoo Co have successfully managed to limit these to ‘go wrong’ moments that are unthreatening and often amusing. Lee, for example, is ‘fired’ at Rachel’s direction (for ‘farting’, nonetheless, something Rachel finds very funny). This means, as we were briefed at the beginning, that Chris must exit the doors to the set and stand outside, peering through gloomily as the rest of the fun ensues. Because only Rachel can order Chris back in, his banishment hilariously lasted some time, and it was only when Flo asked Rachel for permission to bring Chris back (because he was needed to play piano for one of Rachel’s scenes!) that this was permitted.
The creative excellence of this work is found in all its facets – in concept, in design, in delivery, in performance and in play. It’s a delightfully different, dynamic evening of theatre that is worthy of an audience. Perfect Show for Rachel is running until Saturday 21st February at The Crucible Playhouse. Tickets can be found here: https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/perfect-show-for-rachel
Reviewer: Nathan Dunn
Reviewed: 18th February 2026
North West End UK Rating:
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