Review: Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?, Edfringe

“We see our loved ones again, but only bodies, not minds.” This is the essential dilemma of the zombie apocalypse as presented by The Woodlouse (one-person creative powerhouse John Butler). Through original songs, puppetry, and animated drawings, Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep? asks us to imagine whether creatures who are a direct threat to our existence deserve to be treated as sentient beings. The title references the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and the production raises many of the same questions (though in a slightly more homemade style than its more famous adaptation, Blade Runner). Allegorically speaking, are there types of people (demagogues, ideologues and billionaires, perhaps) who we see as inhuman monsters, but who may in fact be capable of loving, of singing and dancing? Is it possible to live alongside such creatures? Could they, in fact, be cured? Though the production ultimately leaves this question unresolved, through its whimsical ukulele melodies, it does ask us to at least consider sympathy for the devil (in this case, the undead).

The premise is simple: there’s a zombie apocalypse. The first half does drag a tiny bit as it belabours the concept of what a zombie is, which presumably everyone in the audience already knows. The audience is gleefully drawn into shouting “Zombies!” in a call-and-response chorus to the main catchy earworm of the show, Zombies Everywhere. John Butler, performer, visual artist, puppetmaster and ukulele-wielder-in-chief, falls in love with a cardboard puppet with whom he attempts to escape the increasingly bleak zombie outbreak. He spares a thought, too, for zombies who fall in love whilst sharing brains (om nom nom.) The government does not respond well to the growing crisis, as a Boris-Johnson-esque cartoon appears behind Butler instructing everyone to ‘remain indoors,’ then a cabinet of ministers considers increasingly outlandish solutions like ‘donor brains’ taken ghoulishly from undesirables. Eventually, a resistance movement develops, hoping to either develop a cure or to develop ways to live alongside these creatures, who Butler and his cardboard lover are increasingly convinced have consciousness. 

A real highlight of the production is the Quentin Blake-esque pen and watercolour drawings and animations forming the backdrop. These were captivating, and I would have enjoyed seeing even more of them, or if screens had permitted, having the action staged so that the drawings were always visible. The production made a virtue of its homemade feel, as with the cardboard love interest and a blanket doubling as the water of a river. The lyrics are perhaps not the highlight of the show, with some laboured rhymes and shoehorned scansion at times, but the melodies are catchy and the engine for emotional momentum throughout the show. The music is available on The Woodlouse website and most streaming music platforms. 

Butler persevered valiantly against both zombies and a plague of technical first-night difficulties, not allowing the energy to drop despite some interruptions which will surely be smoothed over during the course of the run. In the end, whether we could learn to live alongside our zombie compatriots remains unanswered – yet perhaps it is a question we are all continuously asking ourselves in a world of demagogues, ideologues and billionaires.

Music, films and other creations by The Woodlouse (John Butler)

Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep? plays at the Zoo Playground until Sunday August 24