SLIME By Bryony Lavery to Be Presented in Vancouver

Welcome to the 3rd Annual SLIME conference. Join 100 animals, seven young translators, scientists and suits, and fellow humans and step just slightly in the future... Seated amongst the delegates, you might hear an otter swimming down an aisle, a dolphin whistling at your elbow or a seabird over your shoulder: animals too have something to say. We come together to face an insatiable creature, SLIME, which, like facebookslime or googleslime, is taking over. Ask yourself, "who is coming to save us? "The answer might surprise you....

Commissioned by the Banff Centre, and penned by Bryony Lavery, the acclaimed British playwright of Tony-nominated, Frozen, SLIME is set just slightly in the future, at a climate-change conference where animals are at the table. The cast includes 100 animals, seven young animal translators, scientists and suits, and you, our audience.

We come together to face an absolute threat to life on earth-an insatiable creature taking over seas called SLIME. Like other forces in our 21st century lives, facebookslime or googleslime, SLIME moves with viral force, gobbling up all available resources. Humans enabled it, but nothing can stop it. This conference is the last hope for salvation for all life forms. Except SLIME.

The Only Animal's Kendra Fanconi says, "I first met SLIME at the Playwright's Lab in Banff as they were short an actor and I stepped in. At that point SLIME was only half-done, but I fell in love and every few months would write to Bryony and Ruth and ask if I could program it, when the Canadian rights ever became available... Bryony's work premieres at British Theatre institutions like the National in London and I knew it could be some time. Eventually, a need came up to bring designers in to experiment and the process of design-based dramaturgy is second-nature to The Only Animal. We became development partners, and with ongoing support through 5 years with the Banff Centre, a play was born. When they offered us the World Premiere of SLIME, we were, as the Brits say, 'chuffed'."