The company name is an exclamation borrowed from the French: “Allez! Zou!” (“Let’s go! Onwards!”)
We take this word to heart as an impulse to create, to move forward, to never remain stagnant.
We create works that focus on the “grotesque,” steering the audience towards a confrontation with difficult and uncomfortable topics, investigating ambiguous situations and individuals, with the ultimate goal being a form of understanding and enlightenment on the audience's part. We want to peel the layers of the onion in order to discovery humanity within it, and portray it to an audience with depth and beauty.
Viktor Lukawski is a theatre director, actor, and puppeteer who was born in Poland and raised in Canada.
He is a graduate of École Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France, and Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. His work has been presented to audiences all over North America and Europe, and he frequently collaborates and tours with: Plexus Polaire (Cendres, Opera Opaque), The Old Trout Puppet Workshop (Ignorance,Famous Puppet Death Scenes), Bad New Days (The Double, Italian Mime Suicide/Three Red Days), and Wet Picnic (Death and Gardening). These collaborations have garnered rave reviews, awards and nominations, including several Dora nominations (Best Ensemble and Best New Play) in Canada for The Double, and the Grand Prix of the 2018 Banialuka Puppet Festival in Bielsko-Biala, Poland for Cendres. With ZOU, he has directed, created, produced, and performed in two previous productions: Buffalo x 8 (Rhubarb Festival) and Business As Usual (Theatre Centre), with both having been well received by audiences and critics. He is currently developing a new project that focuses on the life and work of controversial Polish-American author, Jerzy Kosinski.
Connect: zoutheatre(at)gmail.com