This is an “almost true” story, and while it sticks to the essence of real-life events, some creative liberties were taken, including, but not limited to, giving the pandas the ability to talk. "Well I guess the biggest liberty was that pandas don't talk. Our pandas do, they talk a lot," Smith tells me. "This was one of those plays that began with a one-line gag and then the more I pulled at the thread the more intriguing it became. I was constantly researching the breeding habits of pandas (my search history is bizarre and a little concerning) and the more I learnt the more I said 'well that has to be in the show'."
"My personal favourite without giving away any spoilers is the current theory that pandas in captivity are not learning to breed because they learn from witnessing other pandas do it in the wild, so zoos have started distributing footage of pandas mating to be shown to them, which lead to what is affectionately known as the panda porn scene. But we did a lot of research into Wang Wang and Fu Ni, the specific pandas of the Adelaide Zoo and many of the character traits are based on accounts of the real-life habits of Wang Wang and Fu Ni."
Wang Wang and Fu Ni are under enormous pressure to perform romance on demand which became a compelling metaphor for human relationships and how we navigate desire, commitment and choice. "It's interesting, because the Wang Wang and Fu Ni in The Pandas of the Adelaide Zoo are not aware of the external pressure to breed but they do have strong internal pressure (that sounds ruder than intended), They both want cubs but they're not sure whether they want them with each other, but suddenly all of their options are taken away," Smith explains.
"Their relationship is completely human, and a lot of people will recognise their own relationships within the pandas, especially those in long-term ones. The first time I showed the script to my wife she was worried that I had written it about us. Similarly two actors who were in the initial development of the work kept saying "Oh my God that's us", so its a very human, recognisable relationship. At times you can forget its about pandas until a certain line brings that memory crashing back."
This isn't the first time Smith has created / performed in work involving animals or absurdirm, with previous productions like Creatures of the Deep and Creatures Lost, and by the sounds of things, it won't be the last either. "I love writing animals, I don't know why. I think it's because when we perform we can be anything in the world and yet so much of the stuff we see seems to be the same. Why not start with a ridiculous premise and a hook?" he says.
"It is funny how the setting drastically changes the story. Had it been The Humans of the Adelaide Zoo, it would have been a horror rather than a comedy. I write things as an exercise in empathy. Most of my stories are essentially about empathy. "What if you were this? What if your life was that?" It's such an important thing we should be doing as human beings and I'm attempting to do that for an audience. I enjoy looking at human issues via a non-human perspective. In a way I suppose it's similar to the way Brecht used to comment on his own culture through the lenses of others and I'm sort of sloppily trying to do that globally. But God that comes across pretentious and lets be honest, I write about pandas, grizzly bears, spiders and fish because as an actor, that's what I want to play with. It's so much more fun!"
A version of The Pandas of the Adelaide Zoo was performed in a one-act theatre festival in Seymour in 2024 and it was the response there that convinced Smith to move ahead with the full-length production that will hopefully give its audience more to chew on than bamboo. "The reactions from that festival made me realise that this is something strange and special and I wanted it to reach a wider audience. I have a reputation for comedy mostly but I like to do sneaky comedy with something underneath, a warm fuzzy feeling or sometimes a gut punch. It's how I measure that as the success; if I can present comedy with that little bit more. Oooh I got a bit deep for a cute comedy show with pandas. I promise at its core it's just a bit of fun and nonsense really!"
SHOW DETAILS
Venue: Club Voltaire, 14 Raglan St, North Melbourne
Season: 13, 14, 20, 21 March | Fri - Sat, 6pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $32 Full | $30 Conc
Bookings: Trybooking
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