Commissioned as part of Wellington Zoo’s 100th birthday celebrations, Janie Walker’s An Elephant Never Forgets – directed by Charlie Bleakley – is part whimsy, part theatre-in-education. Performed in the now-historical Elephant House three-times-a-Sunday (click on the title above for details), it adds an intriguing half hour to a visit to the zoo.

The ghost of Kamala the elephant (Steve Wrigley) is doomed to haunt the zoo, emitting his plaintive trumpeting sound, until the 100 year-old zoo keeper, Alfred (Nathan Meister), remembers the song that will liberate his spirit. But all Alfred knows is that he can’t retire (to Las Vegas to spend the kids’ inheritance) until he remembers something he has forgotten …

It’s a classic set-up. Undoubtedly the kids in the audience will be called upon to become instrumental in resolving the impasse.

The catalyst for moving the story along is schoolgirl Molly (Angela Green), who has to complete a school assignment based on three things she’s learned at the zoo, but she’s really more interested in texting her friends and getting back home to her computer games.

Although Molly and Alfred are initially repelled by each other, they agree to help each other out so they can each get on with their lives. And of course they gain respect for each other in the process.

When a Tibetan Red Panda (Wrigley again) mentions an ancient proverb – “Tell me and I will forget; Show me and I may remember; Involve me and I’ll understand” – the promise of audience involvement seems assured.

Green’s Molly and Meister’s Alfred establish a good rapport with their young audience but, unaccountably, they never appeal to them directly for the answers to any questions at all, let alone involve them in solving their major problems.

It is Wrigley – who also plays a rare Duck and a Chimp – who uses his Theatresports experience to elicit comments from the audience and knit them into the play. But these are incidental to the main quests.

When at last memories of the Chimps’ Tea Parties of old unlock Alfred’s memory, he is suddenly singing the long lost song before we know it. All that build-up and the climax is a fizzer. Why?

Having denied the audience any role in the resolution, the players then sing a song of celebration for the Zoo’s 100th birthday by way of a finale, and we don’t even get invited to join in that! Bewildering.

I don’t need to spell out what’s wrong here. The old Tibetan proverb – repeated towards the end of the play – says it all. The play simply needs to listen to itself and act accordingly.

But the last words should go to our 9 year-old companions. They noted the gags about texting and Nintendo and NZ Idol would be over the heads of the very young and decided it was really about information, because that’s what they got most of.

Asked what would make it better they said, “Getting us to join in. Like he [one of the animal characters] started singing ‘Going To The Zoo’ which most kids know but we didn’t even get to join in with that!”

Enough said.
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