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2024-03-31-accounts

WWW.WEAREZOOCO.CO.UK

ANNUAL REPORT

1 APRIL 2023 - 31 MARCH 2024

CHARITY NUMBER 1186349

COMPANY NUMBER 12089377

TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ABOUT ZOO CO
01
CHARITABLE AIMS
02
OUR MISSION
03
OUR MODEL
04
INCLUSIVITY & COMMUNITY
05
LETTER FROM OUR FOUNDER AND AD
06
FINANCIAL STATS:
GRANTS AWARDED
DONATIONS AND SALES
07
PROJECTS:
CROYDON’S BOROUGH OF CULTURE ACCESS LEA
NIGHT SHIFT
MEMORIES OF THE MARSHLAND
YOUNG COMPANY AND C3:
- RISKY BUSINESS
- ACCESS STUDIO
DELIGHT IN THE WOODS
BOSSY TOUR
08
09
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES & DEVELOP		 03
04
05
06
08
10
12
DS
13
MENT
25

ZOO CO

Zoo Co is a multi-award winning theatre company based in Croydon. We became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation in Spring 2023. We make innovative, bold, electric live theatre for audiences across the UK and around the world.

At our core, we set out to make theatre which responds to what is alive in us as artists, and in our communities. We use bold, playful, highly visual, ensemble-led and democratic approaches to co-create our shows with the artists and communities involved. Our creative practice includes improvisation, Open Space, devising, and new writing.

We share this practice in every creative project, from our professional rehearsal rooms to our community projects. The Zoo Co Young Company is led by the Artistic Director, and co-creates ambitious studio shows alongside professional artists each year.

We believe that theatre is better when everyone is invited. We champion creative access, working with deaf and disabled artists as leaders on every project. We create all of our shows ‘Relaxed as Standard’, and our productions strive to deliver creatively integrated access for deaf, disabled, neurodiverse audiences using integrated sign language, creative captioning, audio description and other technologies, responding to what is creatively enriching for the story, artists and audiences we are working with on each project.

We share our access practice through training, consultancy and advocacy in the industry, in Croydon and nationally. Most recently, we have been the Access Leads for This Is Croydon, London Borough of Culture 23/24, working across the programme to upskill and enhance the accessibility of the full creative programme. We have delivered access consultancy, provision and training for many partners, including the Barbican, StageOne, Liberty Festival, Talawa Theatre and Stanley Arts.

Zoo Co is generously supported by Arts Council England. We are also proud to have received funding from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Foyle Foundation, the Vogue World Fund, the National Lottery Community Fund, and the Postcode Society.

03

AIMS

Our Charitable Aims are to advance public education and appreciation of the arts, in particular but not exclusively:

Through the provision of theatre in theatre venues or other performance spaces.

The Trustees are satisfied that Zoo Co continues to serve these goals to achieve public benefit during this period, in line with guidance from the Charity Commission.

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PHOTO CREDIT MAX CURTIS
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04

MISSION

RELEVANT PRODUCTIONS:

To create highly innovative, relevant, ambitious and visual live productions for local and national touring, amplifying stories from marginalised people in our communities, using co-creation and community consultation.

ACCESS CHAMPIONS:

To champion access across all our activities, celebrating its immense creative and social impact and sharing our creative access methodology with the wider industry.

SERVING CROYDON:

To empower children, young people and adults in Croydon to be creative, using co-creation and community consultation to build programmes that are impactful and informed/ led by our diverse doorstep community.

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PHOTO CREDIT DANNY KAAN
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05

MODEL

We’re in our second year of work testing this 4-stage model, showing how our work starts through development with our doorstep communities in Croydon and grows to have national and international impact from there. This report covers the 12 month period from April 2023 to March 2024, our first as an Arts Council of England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO).

ROOTING:

We continuously root more deeply into our diverse doorstep communities through conversation, events and training. We really get to know our community whilst providing opportunities for locals to design and participate in creativity at every stage of their lives. We ask lots of questions, and we listen to the answers. Our role as Access Leads for Croydon’s year as Borough of Culture brought myriad opportunities to upskill local organisations in making their events more accessible. We founded the Access Library; a shared set of items that can be loaned out to improve access at cultural offerings. Our Young Company is led by Artistic Director Flo O’Mahony, with Croydon young people working year-round to co-create a new piece of work for performance. Our partnership with CMA on the YPPF funded C3 programme saw us working with young people, and young disabled adults in the borough to unlock their creativity, with disabled participants at our Access Studio creating short films, ending with a screening of their work.

AMPLIFYING:

From our rooting work, we create ambitious, high quality shows, amplifying stories relevant to our community with full creative power. We use community consultation, co-creation and research to inform development. Work premieres in Croydon, connecting communities with ambitious culture where they live that authentically reflects their experiences and brings locals together. 23/24 saw the development of Night Shift - a new, mid-scale production at our home venue Stanley Arts.

BRANCHING:

We tour productions nationally, sharing impactful stories beyond their roots; we develop relationships nationally with deaf and disabled communities. We loudly celebrate the artistic quality of accessible art nationally, with strong partnership working to maximise impact. In 23/24 our Branching work involved the touring of our children’s show Bossy , and the return of our immersive children’s engagement work with Delight in the Woods; 495 primary school students attended this immersive, outdoor experience at Box Hill National Trust.

06

CHANGE-MAKING:

We use our profile as creators of world-class, accessible productions to affect sector development and social change, contributing to a more inclusive cultural landscape where everyone is invited. 23/24 was a standout year for our Change-Making work: as Croydon’s Borough of Culture partner for Access, we developed:

The Access Library - a lending library of kit to borrow to make cultural events more accessible.

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We also partnered with disabled movement director and writer Jack Norris on an ACE-funded project - Memories of the Marshland - investigating Visually Impaired accessible movement practice. This Creative Access Lab took place over a week in March 2024, with a public sharing at Jackson’s Lane.

07

COMMUNITY

Founded in 2013 as a company focusing on making visually imaginative work, Zoo Co quickly learnt to blend our theatre practice with the community work we were involved in. In our show Sirens in 2018, we worked with a deaf actor and consultant for the first time, and created our first children’s show, Messy , in partnership with the ADHD Foundation.

From there, our staff, casts and creative teams began to be majority deaf / disabled / neurodiverse, and we founded a charitable entity to enable us to better deliver that work. Now, our work focuses on empowering deaf / disabled / neurodivergent and young people to become autonomous decision-makers and cocreators of the work they are making.

In our 10th anniversary year, you find us striving for excellence in access provision, which is at the heart of all of our work. All performances have been Relaxed As Standard since 2016 and have had integrated BSL since 2018.

The year covered by this report was a hugely productive period for us:

Our first year as an ACE National Portfolio Organisation.

We welcomed David Bellwood, Head of Access at the National Theatre, to our Board. We also recruited a freelance Producer to lead on Night Shift.

We strive to serve our local community in Croydon. Our status as trusted members of the Croydon arts community is evidenced with multi-year commissions from Croydon Music & Arts and our position as Access Leads for Croydon’s year as Borough of Culture.

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PHOTO CREDIT GLENN FOSTER
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08

We’re proud residents of Stanley Arts, alongside fellow NPOs Stanley Arts and Boundless Theatre, the incredible dance company Birdgang, furniture restorers, a graphic novelist, a reiki healer and a personal trainer!

It’s incredible to be part of this diverse and bustling cultural hub for Croydon, in a heritage building moving through a beautiful, careful restoration to make it more welcoming and accessible for everyone.

Shared space offers all kinds of opportunities – we share freelance staff and expertise – in December we all undertook Carbon Literacy Training; sharing places on the course between organisations put it within reach for more people, geographically and financially.

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PHOTO CREDIT AMY SMITH
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This document outlines what we have achieved, what we’ve learnt, and how the charity continues to develop its processes, partnerships and reputation.

09

FLO O'MAHONY

Hello,

Flo here, Artistic Director at Zoo Co. It is a privilege to reflect on this year’s activity; our first year as a National Portfolio Organisation for Arts Council England. After a decade of being project-funded, and persevering through a global pandemic, this year feels like a real landmark year of activity in Zoo Co’s journey - a year where we could truly begin to deliver our full potential driven by an ethos and mission that feels clear, urgent and exciting.

In terms of rooting, this year enabled us to get fully stuck into the fabric of Croydon’s incredible creative community as we stepped up to London’s Borough of Culture. We sat on the Steering Committee, we created a hugely ambitious mid-scale show, Night Shift , as part of the theatre programme, and perhaps most impacting of all, we were the delivery leads for access provisions across Borough of Culture. Fleur, Zoo co-founder and Creative Access Director, led the campaign, informed by the Access Advisory Group, which involved delivering training on our Access Weekender, offering 74 hours of free consultancy over the year, and the creation of Croydon’s Access Library - a physical library of access equipment and tech that continues to be free-to-loan for any artists creating events in the borough and beyond. Fleur called on the Croydon creative sector to share an ethos of being ‘realistic and brave’ about access, providing the tools artists and organisations needed to upskill and learn how to implement this, and set a new standard for what can be achieved in terms of accessibility for Croydon, and for future Borough of Culture programmes.

At the beginning of the year we toured our fantastic children’s show, Bossy by Cherie Gordon around the UK. An absolute highlight was watching two sold-out shows at the Southbank Centre, where audiences were so moved to see an authentic portrayal of deaf and Caribbean culture. We also delivered Delight in the Woods for the third time at Box Hill, reaching 495 children with this enchanting outdoor immersive programme.

Achieving NPO status also meant that we expanded our team, welcoming Amy Smith as our Executive Director. It has been transformative to witness the impact Amy’s kind, proactive, wise and rigorous leadership has made on the way we work as a team, the culture in our office, how we work with our Board, and the way that this has enhanced the quality and depth of our creative outputs across the board for everybody we set out to serve - artists, audiences, participants.

Our creative focus for the year was to ‘become the nerds of our own creative practice’ - to allow ourselves time and space to hone our creative offerings, alongside our accessibility know-how. As a disabled-led organisation, it can be easy to feel as though our skills relating to accessibility are the only strings to our bow, but this focus gave our creative teams the encouragement to expand on both creative and access processes (which are inherently entangled, of course!).

As an Artistic Director, I have learnt the value of bringing more and more rigour into the ways we create our work. This goes beyond making sure there are the right access provisions in a room, to really celebrating and sharing the expectations we all have for achieving artistic excellence in everything that we do with the fantastic artists we work with.

10

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to share this approach with artists across many deeply rewarding creative projects this year including Risky Business by Liv Ello, (co-created play with our Young Company), our mid-scale show Night Shift by Paula B Stanic with a fantastic deaf and hearing creative team, and on the Research and Development project Memories of the Marshland by Jack Norris, where for the first time, Zoo Co explored how to work in a creatively integrated way with Blind / Visually Impaired artists and audiences. There will always be more to learn, both in terms of access and as artists, and this year felt like an opportunity to get really curious and invested in how we develop these things in tandem - a reminder that disabled artists are artists first and foremost, and that together, we can make electric, live, bold theatre where everybody is invited.

Very best wishes

Flo O'Mahony

FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF ZOO CO CREATIVE LTD,

DECEMBER 2024

11

AWARDED

Borough of Croydon and GLA (Large Ignite Fund)

£32,000

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (Creative Confident Communities Year 1 of 3)

Vogue World Fund

Foyle Foundation

Postcode Society Trust (Funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery)

Croydon Music & Arts

£30,000 £20,000 £25,000 £15,000 £25,000

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PHOTO CREDIT CAM HARLE
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SALES

Delight in the Woods Spring 2023 Instalment 2

£11,005

Supporters Scheme, Individual Giving and Gift Aid

£1,812

Access Consultancy Other Consultancy

£5,232

£650

12

BOROUGH OF CULTURE

Here’s how we delivered on our role as Access Leads for Croydon’s year as Borough of Culture:

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74
BESPOKE 1:1 CONSULTANCY
hours of free
Consultancy on making Croydon events more accessible consultancy
delivered to 17
different
organisations
ACCESS WEEKENDER 67
A weekend of free training events arts & local
authority
workers
attended
41
ACCESS MANIFESTO
organisations &
An ambitious and realistic manifesto for cultural organisations charting individuals signed
the way forward for access provisioning up 37 from
Croydon cultural
sector
ACCESS ARTS CROYDON WEBSITE
Website packed with resources and signposting 1,765
visitors Jan-
Mar 2024
ACCESS LIBRARY
Sharing kit to make events more accessible
35
loans of kit,
supporting
hundreds of
audience
members
EVENT ACCESS PROVISION 1
Providing outsourced access support to events Welcome
Hub at
Liberty
Festival
coordinated
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ACCESS ADVISORY GROUP

A working group for cultural organisations for the Borough of Culture, chaired by Zoo Co

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5
meetings
chaired
through the
year
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13

ACCESS WEEKENDER (24-25 JUNE, 2023)

Three months into Croydon’s year as Borough of Culture, we organised the Access Weekender- a largescale group training for anyone organising a cultural activity in Croydon during the Borough of Culture.

We welcomed representatives from the GLA, local Councillors and Council staff. Reach extended far beyond the Borough, with freelance delegates who also worked at Nottingham Playhouse, Dance Umbrella, and Dark Horse Theatre in Huddersfield taking part.

The spaces at LSBU’s Croydon campus offered lots of scope to design the weekend in an accessible way, with two break-out spaces - one ‘chatty’, one ‘quiet and sensory’. Each session was offered as hybrid, with people joining the livestream, supported by an online facilitator and live captioner.

PROGRAMME SUMMARY:

Deaf Awareness with Rupal Chandi.

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PHOTO CREDIT DANILO ZOCATELLI
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FEEDBACK:

“ I feel I have information I can leave with and apply to my daily life as well as professional work. ”

“ It was really useful to hear from so many people with lived experience. It was useful to learn about accessibility in the context of theatre and the arts! ”

“ This was mind-blowing and super generous! ”

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EVENT ACCESS PROVISION FOR LIBERTY FESTIVAL (1-3 SEPTEMBER, 2023)

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Liberty Festival is the Mayor of London’s flagship festival of high-quality work by deaf and disabled artists. We were proud to support audiences access to events, including managing the Wellbeing Hub as part of Liberty Festival 1 - 3 September. Flo and Fleur met new contacts in the Croydon deaf community, and strengthened ties with Drunken Chorus, Birds of Paradise, and other disabled-led arts organisations.

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15

LIST OF ORGANISATIONS / EVENTS WHO RECEIVED FREE SUPPORT:

Beeja Dance

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PHOTO CREDITS GLENN FOSTER
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16

LEGACY

As part of the legacy of Borough of Culture, much of our offer is still available at no cost to Croydon organisations. We will continue to offer free Access Consultancy and use of the Access Library to Croydon organisations seeking support with their events throughout 24-25, and will continue to maintain the Access Arts Croydon website.

Outside the Borough, these strands have become valuable income-generating activity for Zoo Co.

The connections made during Borough of Culture have been sustained in the new collective Culture Croydon; it’s open access, with current key input from representatives from Turf Projects, Croydonites, Zoo Co, Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, Birdgang, Stanley Arts and individual freelancers.

We’re currently exploring as a group the best way for this consortium to be constituted and run.

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As well as an outward-facing legacy, the intensity of the work during Borough of Culture led us to reflect on our strengths, and organise our Access Support work into three distinct strands:

Neurodiversity Awareness Training was designed and created by the Creative Access Director and Access Co-ordinator during the winter, with the first booking availability in March 2024. In this piece of work, income-generation goes hand-in-hand with skills sharing.

Across all three strands, we aim to generate around £11,000 a year in earned income.

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SHIFT

FACTS & FIGURES:

FACTS & FIGURES:
Casts and Creatives 19
Audience 819
Performances 10

Night Shift premiered at Stanley Arts in November, following a multi-year development process. Written by award-winning playwright Paula B Stanic, co-directed by Brian Duffy and Flo, the production was a centrepiece of Croydon’s Borough of Culture year.

The play told the stories of night workers, and the night-time economy in Croydon - the delivery drivers, the medical staff, the emergency responders, the petrol station attendants, the DJs… the insomniacs. It featured a 50/50 deaf and hearing cast, and drew a local audience. It was generously supported by the Borough of Croydon and the GLA with a Large Ignite Fund.

You can watch the rehearsal trailer here.

Night Shift featured our signature blend of BSL, spoken English, and Visual Vernacular with an ensemble cast of 9. We’re especially proud of the show’s reception by the local deaf community- audience feedback told us that the honest representation of deaf people going about their everyday lives was warmly welcomed.

We incorporated a wheelchair ramp into our set design to add levels to the set and allow access down to auditorium level for a wheelchair-using cast member. This development not only improved safety, but also gave us creative staging opportunities to play with.

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ACROSS 10 PERFORMANCES, 3 STOOD OUT AS PARTICULAR CELEBRATIONS:

GLA GUEST NIGHT

We welcomed Night Czar Amy Lamé as our special guest – she spoke compellingly about social justice issues around low wages and poor health outcomes for night workers. We were joined by staff from the Culture Team and Night Time Strategy Team at the Greater London Authority, Croydon Council staff and local Councillors.

SCHOOL AND COLLEGE METINEE

We performed to a sold out audience of Coulsdon College students, Brit School students, and students from Sussex Uni taking a module in BSL and Deaf Culture Studies.

‘I thought the play was very inspiring as it faced major issues in society, and the lighting, the sound… it was giving. Continue what you are doing.’ – audio feedback recorded after that performance.

10TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY

We used the Night Shift Press Night as a chance to celebrate a decade of Zoo Co, raising a glass to friends and colleagues old and new, and 10 years of hard work, learning and creativity.

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SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION

WE USED THE PRODUCTION TO FURTHER DEEPEN OUR SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICE:

Sections of the large canvas backdrop were passed on to a Hackney artist for reuse.

Catering for events and cast lunches was 100% vegetarian.

19

INNOVATIVE EVALUATION:

We felt proud of the different ways we gathered feedback:

Post-it notes

Allow a variety of methods, to let people feedback in the way that best suits them.

Night Shift Survey Data 194 Feedback Surveys (18% of our audience)
Impressed 94% (58% excellent, 36% good)
Local 63% had travelled less than 5 miles to be with us, with 43%
travelling 0 - 2 miles. 20% of our audience walked or cycled to be
with us.
Deaf/Disabled/Neurodivergent 25% deaf/disable/long term health condition, 35% neurodivergent
New to Our Work 66%
Art and Culture Regulars 73% answered that they attended more than 6 arts and culture
experiences each year.

AUDIENCES DESCRIBED THE SHOW AS:

20

THE MARSHLAND

In March 2024, we partnered with disabled Movement Director and emerging writer Jack Norris on a Creative Access Lab to develop our practice around Visually Impaired (VI) Creative Access.

Jack had approached Flo with a concept when he was part of the Bossy team as a Trainee. He wanted to develop Memories of the Marshland, a text-based script infused with physical theatre, centring two VI girls, that he’d written during lockdown. We were excited to learn about VI creative access, so we came on board over a week-long, ACE-funded creative experiment.

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The Lab explored what new creative languages can emerge when usual methods of directing, generating and devising movement are not accessible. It was a radical development of Zoo Co’s accessible process.

It was also an opportunity to expand the communities that we work with, supported by Sam Brewer from Flawbored as a VI creative associate, consultation from Quiplash Arts, and VI creative, access and community consultants.

The Lab ran for two days at the Unicorn Theatre and four days at Jackson’s Lane, who generously donated space as Support in Kind for the project. It culminated in a sharing and panel discussion with the creative team and Amelia Lander-Cavallo from Quiplash.

FACTS & FIGURES:

FACTS & FIGURES:
Cast and Creatives 19
Audience 47
Digital Audience 3800

You can watch the Q&A and clips from the sharing on our website.

21

YOUNG COMPANY

We continued to develop the Zoo Co Young Company through the year, culminating in our second full production, Risky Business , co-created with renowned punk playwright Liv Ello and the Company. Risky Business was staged at Stanley Arts following three terms of skills development and devising.

The show, a dystopian dark comedy set in a futuristic Risk Management Centre, is a rebellion against a world that stifles adventure. Our devising process is alive to the stories that our participants want to tell, and Risky Business came out of the idea that we treat young people as 'risk takers', and interrogating what that does for creativity, learning and courage.

Two short scenes were staged at the CMA Festival in the Park, with the full production presented over two nights at Stanley Arts at the end of July 2023 as part of Croydon’s Borough of Culture programme.

YoCo is really feeling like it’s coming into its own now, with regular, dedicated participation from young people every week through the school year. Our co-creation process is becoming a well-oiled machine, we’re constantly inspired by the young people who show up to the work, and we’re exploring ways to support them beyond YoCo by looking into early career employment pathways.

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We also partnered with CMA to deliver creative sessions via Waddon Hub’s Access Studios, a year-long weekly workshop for learning disabled young people in Croydon. Through facilitation and co-creation, our creative team developed scripts for short films with participants, which were shot and screened for an invited audience of friends and family at Stanley Arts.

Participants were fully involved and deeply invested in the process, performing in each other’s pieces and contributing to the story and character development. The work was imaginative, playful and bold, and a delight to watch.

C3 short film storyboard

FACTS & FIGURES:

FACTS & FIGURES:
Attendances 240
Co-Creation Sessions 30
Performances & Screening 4

23

THE WOODS

This year saw a remount of our immersive children’s show Delight in the Woods , in partnership with the charity Delight. This show, set in the woods at Box Hill National Trust, sees groups of children meet and help whimsical characters. The immersive, unfolding experience ignites the imaginations of the children and empowers them in their role as ‘The Best Storytellers in the World’.

2023 was our last year for Delight in the Woods . We’re proud of the magic of the experience - watching children receive an individualised poem from a character in the woods makes all of the trooping around in the rain worth it. Through seeing themselves reflected in the personalised poems, we hope Delight has been a spark that lets all the children taking part know that their stories matter.

FACTS & FIGURES:

FACTS & FIGURES:
Children Taking Part 495
Individual Poems Written 495
Classes Involved 12

TOUR

Our children’s show, Bossy , headed out on the road in April 2023. Bossy celebrates British Caribbean and deaf identity, and premiered at Stanley Arts. It centres Beth, a girl on a quest to become the world’s best leader.

We toured Bossy to 13 venues across the North, South East, and South West. The stories of Beth, her mother and grandmother were seen by over 1000 audience members, and served as the inspiration for a workshop about identity and role models that we ran in Croydon schools later in the year. Workshops, led by Fleur and frequent collaborator Sim Campbell, were attended by 420 primary school pupils.

FACTS & FIGURES:

FACTS & FIGURES:
Tour Venues 13
Audience 1136
School Workshop
Participants		 420

We learned a lot creating Bossy - from developing our co-creation practice, through to working out how to support trainees in a rehearsal room. A main takeaway from the process is that it’s good to be ambitious and to try things out, but that we will get better results from focusing on One New Thing per production. We took that thinking into Night Shift and have committed to being incredibly clear about which New Thing we want to work on in every new project that we’ve started since.

24

DEVELOPMENT

OUR WORKFORCE

At the beginning of the year, existing members of the team became employees alongside the Artistic Director - with the two new roles of Executive Director and Projects Administrator, Zoo Co now supports a payroll of five.

Freelancers are also key contributors to our day-to-day operations, and work with us across Producing, Fundraising and Access Co-ordination.

Our new status as an Arts Council NPO has encouraged greater rigour around our employment data:

HOW MANY PEOPLE WORK FOR US, AND WHO ARE THEY?

We contracted 55 freelancers

We had 5 salaried employees

We had 5 Trustees

GOVERNANCE

We gathered in July for a Board and Staff Away Day, where we established long-term aims and dreams, and spent time together building the team. We look forward to holding these annually going forward.

In the winter, we undertook a Trustee Skills Audit, and learned we needed to focus future recruitment in these ways:

Lived experience of deafness, disability and neurodivergence, and life as an artist working in UK theatre.

In Spring we met a wide range of candidates, and this has since led to the recruitment of three new Trustees, and our innovative Introduction to Trusteeship programme, where deaf and disabled people interested in learning more about becoming a Trustee are paid for their time to observe Board meetings.

25

TRANING AND DEVELOPMENT

We seek to open out our training offer to freelancers and Trustees wherever possible.

BSL (British Sign Language) Level 1 weekly classes began in Autumn 2023, and comprised employees, regular freelancers and Trustees. We are committed to offering all employees this level of sign language training, and meeting weekly to converse in a new language has strengthened ties between different roles across the organisation.

Carbon Literacy Training took place in December 2023, in a group session shared with Stanley Arts and Talawa Theatre staff. 80% of our employees are now certified Carbon Literate, with key freelancers like our Production Manager and Development Director also in attendance.

Anti-Racism Training took place in January 2024, delivered to employees and freelancers by our Trustee Ché Ramsden.

Safeguarding our Executive Director joined our Artistic Director at BSL Level 3, and became our Deputy DSL. Our Creative Access Director holds Level 2, with all other salaried staff and our freelance Access Coordinator holding Level 1.

Visual Impairment Awareness Training was delivered by Yusuf Osman in March 2024 to the full staff team, Support Workers and freelance creatives involved in Memories of the Marshland.

Individual staff members also undertook courses in Audio Description, Understanding Autism, and BSL Levels 2 and 3.

Associateships for the calendar year 2024 were offered to two key freelancers; we were able to offer a retainer equivalent to one day’s work a month, and they spent time with us in R&Ds, pre-production show prep, and training days. This marked our response to the recent sector work listening to freelancers, and understanding the problems and barriers they experience: financial precarity, lack of training opportunities, lack of support and little sense of belonging. It also de-risks us in some key areas: artistic burnout, and difficulties sourcing freelance workers for projects. We look forward to an annual programme of Associateships.

SUSTAINABILITY

Ethical Banking In Spring 2024, we switched banks, moving from Metrobank over to Co-op and Charity Bank, in probably our most impactful sustainability action of 23/24.

Circularity In Jan 2024, we took inventory of our set and props in storage, and decided on what could go. We donated items to:

Some items were sold, generating a small amount of income.

Additional on-site storage space agreed with Stanley Arts for our Access Library allows a ‘little and often’ approach, where items can be stored temporarily as they’re processed, has been crucial to our changed mindset in this area.

26

Thank You!

for reading our Trustees’ Annual Report

Office and Mailing Address: Stanley Arts, 12 South Norwood Hill, SE25 6AB

Facebook / Instagram: @wearezooco

Artistic Director Flo O'Mahony: flo@wearezooco.co.uk

Executive Director Amy Smith: amy@wearezooco.co.uk

Interim General Manager Michelle Hudson: michelle@wearezooco.co.uk

harity Registration No. 1186349 Cthmpany Registratlon No. 120893TT IEngland antl Walèsl ZOO CO CREAllvE LTD ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Trustees Mr F Akinmade Mr D Bel￿ood Ms G Dickson Ms E Claughlon Mr N Islam Ms J Pearce Ms C Ramsden Mr R Stephenson Mr N Sweeting {appointed 6 August 2024} lappoinled 11 April 20231 (during theperfod orat dat• of appmvalj (retl￿d 9 October 20231 lappoinled 14 May 20241 {appointed 14 May 20241 Charity number 1186349 Company numbor 12089377 Principal address 12 South NoThvood Hill London SE25 6AB Reglstored offlc8 12 South Norwood Hill London SE25 6AB Indgpendent •xamln8r Jon Harri5, ACMA, CGMA Suite LP61812 20 Wenlock Roa%Y London N17GU Bankers CTrOperative Bank

CONTENTS Trustees, reFQrt Independent eXalr￿ner'S report Statement of finantial xtMtie5 Balance sheet Note5 to the fsnancial statemer

TRusfEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS, REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENOED 31 March 2024 The Trustees presenttheir repxjrt andfinancial statementsforthe period ended 31 March 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance wf(h the accountin8 wli(ies set out in note I tothefinancial statements and comply with the charity'5 Memorandum and Articles of Association, the CompaniesAct 21J)6 and'Accounting and Reporting by Chari(ies.' 5taternent of Recommended Prartice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance wf(h the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021 leffettive l January 20191.. oblert￿e$ and a¢tlvltles The charity's objects are5pecsfically restricted tothe followin8: To athance p¢Jblic edwation in and appreciation of the arts. The TrLStees note a further successful year in the furtherarKeof theobjectives and have made a full reporttothe ￿arity Cornmission. Statement of Trystees. responslbllftles TheTrustees. who are also the directors of the charity for the wrpJ5e of company law. are res￿sn$1b1efor preparin8 theTrustees' Report and the financial staternents in accordance with applKalAe lawand United Kinglhrn Accounti￿ Standartts Iunited Kingdorn Generally Accepted Accounting Prarticel. Company Law ￿qUireS the Tntsteesto prepare financial statementsfor each financial year which gNe a true and fair viewof the state of affairs of the charity and of the incorning resources and application of resources, including the incorneand expenditure. of the charitable company for that year. In preparing thesefinancial statements, the Trustees are reouired to: - selectsuitable accountln8 policies and then apply them consistenily. - observe the rnethods and principles in the Charitie5 SORP: make judgements and estimatesthat are reasonable and prude - state whetherapplieable UK AccountiTh8Standards have been followed. subjett to any rnaterial departure5 disclosed and explained In thefinancial statements: and - prepare the financial statements on the8oing concern basi5 unless it is inappropriate to presurnethatthecharitywlll continue in operation. The Trustees are responsiblefor keeping adequate a￿oUntIng records that disclose with ￿aSOnable accurary at any time the financial posrcion of the charity and enablethem to ensure that the financial staternents comptywith the Companies Aci 2C#)6. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hencefor taking reasonable stepsforthe prevention and detettion of fraud and other irregularities.

Strutturej 8overnance and management Governing Document: Zoo Co Creative Ltd is a company lirnited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of A550ciation as well as published Health and Safety. Child Protertion, and otherdocumentsto protect the vulnerable. The Charity function5 at our re8lStered office a5 well a5 in schoo15. theatres and other locations acrossthe UK and Ireland. Appointment of trustees is conducted in accordance with the Articles. Or8anisation- The board of trustees adrnini5ters the Charity- The day-ttrday runnln8 of the company 15 mana8ed by a small professional staff. Accountin8 15 mana8ed by the professional staff and 311 financial docurnents are produced in accordance wr(h applicable law and Vnited Kingdom Accounting Standards. Financial review Statement of Risk: The Trusteesvalidate that all contratts, expenditures, financlal plans. and buslness models used by the Charity are of Sound financial sense and do not contravene any Health and Safety orvulnerable individuals. statues or common practice. Over the course of 2023-24, Zoo Co has adjusted its mode1 and company structure, from that which suited 3 projett-funded company, to a model that suits a company regularly funded by Arts Council En8land as a National Portfolio Or8anisation for the period 2023- 2026. We will nowwork towards maintaining an unrestricted reservethat reflert5 not less than three months. staff, admin. overheads and fundraising costs, + IO%. TheTrustees acknowledge that adjusting this reserve to these levels will be a process spanning severa1 years,. it begins in 2023-24 and will take some time to be refletted in the actual outturn. The Trustees have decided to rnaintaln an unrestritted reserve at an amount equal to not le5S than fourweeks. operating costs + IO% for 2023-24. The reserves are considered sufficient to safe8uard against any ternporaryshortfall in income or any additional unforeseen overhead costs. The Tru5tee5 aim to increase the unrestricted reserve to an amount equal to not les5 than two months, operating costs + IO% for 2024- 25. By 2025-26 the Tru5tee5 aim to maintain an unrestritted reserve at an amount equal to not le5$ than three rnonths, operating costs + io%. At year end, Ihere wa5 a surplus in the reservesof £151,498. Detailed cash flow projection5 and lintritem expendituresare kept at all time5 of all transatttons. Twstees reviewand approve all accounting docurnents produced by staff. The Trustees are responsible for preparingthe TrU￿ees. Annual Report. An accountarrt is engaged to independently review and examine accounts atyear end.

Public benefit statement Duringtheyear wefulfilled our objectives, toadvance pU￿1C ed￿atIOn and apprecI￿10n of the arts, in particular but not exclu5ively'. l. Through the presentation of performances andthe develDpmentof new work 2. By developing accessibility in the arts through innov*fve. tailored engagement pf￿drarnrne5f0rrnar8inalISed groups or individuals, in particular.. -young people aged 7-21 -Deaf and disabled audiences and participants 3. Throu8h the provision of theatre in iheatrevenuesor other perforrnancespace5 TheTrustee5 aresatisfied ihat Zoo Co continuesto serve these goalsto achieve public benefrt duringthis period. in linewith guidar￿frOmthe Ctharitycommission. Objecrives and Actwities The TrU￿eeS have made a full report tothetharitycommssion ab￿t objeclives and attivitie5. The Trustees have approved this rewrt. Ms G Dickson Trustee 12 Novembef 2024

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORTTO THETRUSTEES OF zo CO CREATIVE LTD I reportto theTrustee5 on rnyexamlnatlon of the financlal statements of Zoo Co Creative Ltd forthe per￿￿ ended 31 March 2024. Responslbllltlesand baslsof report As the Tru5tee5 of the charity land also its di￿￿Or$forthe purwses of company lawl you are ￿sponSIblef0rthe preparation of the financral statements in accordance wlth the requirernents ol the CoM￿nIesAtt 2006 Ithe 2006 Acti Havin8 satlsfted myself that the financlal statements of the charity are not requiredto be audited under Part IS of the 21K)6 Att and are eligible for Independentexamlnatlon. I report In respect of my examination of the charit(s financial staternents c3rried out under settion 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In ¢arryin8 out myexamlnation I have followed all the appllcable Directions given by the Charity Commission under settion 14515llbl of the 2011 ACL I¥Nlependent examlner's statement I confirm that l am qualified to undertake the exarninatlon because l am a rnernberof CIMA, whlch Is one of the listed bodles. I have coM￿eted rnyexaminatlon. I confirm that AO matters have cometo my attentlon in connettion with the exarnination giving me cause to believe that in any rnateri31 respett: accounting recordswere not kept In ￿$pertOf the chèTtyaS required by settion 386 of the 2006 Act,. or the financial stzternents do not accord with those records., or the financial statements do not comply with the accountin8 requlrements of settEon 396 of the 2C#J6 Att Other than any requlrement that the accounts give a true and falr vSew whlch Is not a rnatter considered a5 P3rt of an Independent examination; or the financial 5taternents have not been p￿pa￿d In accordance wffth the M￿hOd5 and prfnclples of the Statement of Recommended Prattice for accounting and reporting by charf(les applicable to Charities preparing their accounts In accordance with the Flnanclal Reportlng Standard appllcable In the UK and Republic of I￿land IFRS 1021. I have no concerns ènd have come across no other matters in connection with the examlnation to which attentlon should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understandin8 of the financial 5tsternents to be reached. Jon Harris, ACMA. CGMA. MA Icantab.). FRSA Suite LP61812. 20 Wenl¢xk Road London Nl 7GU Dated.. 12 November 2024

ATEMÉNT OF FINANCIALACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2014 Unre5trlrted Re5trlctèd funds fvnds 2024 2024 Unrestrlcted Restrlrted funds funds 2023 2023 Totsl Total 2024 2023 Note5 Ibèlng 12 months) Ibeln8 8 months) Income and endowments from: Donations and le8acies Charitable attivities Othertradin8 activities Inve5trnents Other income 453 97,362 53,903 453 214,197 53,903 340.794 19,157 125,446 466.240 19,157 116.835 77100 77,800 78,934 78,934 Total income 437.751 125,446 563,197 230,652 116.835 347,487 endlture on: Charitable activlties 331,757 128.727 460,484 241.780 110.686 352,466 Net Incomellexpenditurel for the yearl Net movement In fvnds 105,994 -3.281 102,713 -11,128 6,149 4,979 Fund balances at 31 March 2023131July20221 31,341 17,444 48.785 42,469 11.295 53,764 Fund balance5 at 31 March 2024 (10231 137,335 14,163 151A98 31.341 17A44 48,785 The statement of financial activities includes all gain5 and losses ￿cogniSed in the year. l income and expenditure derive frorn continuing activities. The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an Income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

BALANCE 5HEEf as at 31 March 2024 2024 2023 Notes Flxed assets Tangible assets Current 355ets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand I[￿.275 108,487 217.762 102,953 26.154 129.107 Creditors: amounts falllrtg due wlthln one year 6.264 -80.322 Net tur￿nt assetsllliabilitie51 151,498 48,785 Total assets less current liabilltles 151.498 48.785 Creditors: amounts falllng due after more than one year Net assetsllllabilltiesl 151.498 48.785 Incornefunds Vnrestrirted funds Restricted fuads 137.335 14,163 151.498 31,341 17.444 48,785

BALANCE SHEET ICONTINUEDI AS AT 31 Marth 2024 The cornpany 15 entitled to the exemmion fromthe audil requirernentcontained in sectK)n 477 of the Companies Act 2006. forthe peiod ended 31 March 2024. The directorsacknowled8ethelr resFOTh5ibilitiesforensuring that the charity keep5 accountinE records whlch cornplywith settion 386 01 the Art and for prepaftngfinancial Aatementswhich gNe a true and fair wew of ihe state of affairs of the company as at the end of thefinancial year and of it5 incoming resource5 and application of sources. including its income and expenditure. forthe finanoal year in accordancewith the reqUI￿rnents of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwisecornply with the requirementsof the Q)mpanie5 Act 2(￿ relating to rinanclal statements, sofaT as applicableto the company. The members have not required the companyto obtain an audit of its finanaal statementsfor the year i question in accordance with sertion 476. Thesefinancial staternents have been prepared In a(Wrdar￿eWlth the provision5 aFplicable to companies subjett to the small companie5 regime. The financial statements wereapproved by the Twlleeson 12 November2024. Ms G Dickso Tru#ee Company RegistrnUon No. 12089377

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMEMfs FOR TrIE PERIOD ENDED 31 March 2024 l A¢countlnB pollcles Charlty Inforniatlon Zoo Co Creative Ltd is a private company limi(ed by Kuarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The re8lStered office Fs at 12, South Norwood Hill. London SE25 6AB. 1.1 Accounting convtntlon The financial statements have been prepa￿d in accordance wlth the charity's Memorandum and Articles ol Association, the Cornpanies Att 2006 and'Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statefflent of Recornrnended Practice applicable to charities preparing theirac£ounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic ol Ireland IFRS 1021 (effective l January 20191" The charity is a Public Benefit Entlty as defined by FRS 102. The charity has taken advantage ol the provisions in the SORP foriharitles applyin8 FKS 102 Update Bulletin I not to prepare a Staternent of Cash Flows. The financial statements are prepared In sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statemenrs are rounded tothe nearest £. The financial Statements have been prepared underthe hlstorical cost conventlon. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below. 1.2Charftable funds Un￿$triCtedfUndS are available foruse at the dlscretion of the Trustees ITr ftjrtheranee of theircharitab1e objectives. Restrirted funds are to be used forspecific purposes as laid down bythe donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to thefund. 1.3 Incomin8 resources Donations, legacies, 8rants etc. are accounted forwhen dueto the charity, Whe￿ applicable. with their associated tax recoverable element. Produttion income is credited to the st*ement of financial actfvlties forthe period in whlch the related produttion takes place. Fees received in advance of future produtions are deferred. All other income is recognised when It 15 receivable. No income is recorded net of expenses exceptwherethese are beyond the control or knowledge of the trustees. Turnover is measured at the fairvalue ol the consideration received or receivable and represents amount5 receivable for 8oods and services provided in the normal course of buslness, net of discounts, VAT and othersales related taxes.

NOTES YO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ICONTINUEDI FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 March 2024 Icontlnyedl l Attountln8 policies 1.4 Resources expended Resources expended a￿ reco8nSsed in the perlod in whSch theyare Incurred except that produttion expenses are recognised in the period in which the productlon takes place. Governancecost5 areth05e necessary fgrthe charlty to meet constltuilonal and stattrtory requirernents and include any costs a550ciated with the strategic management of the charity'5 artivities. 1.5Tan8lble fixed assets Tangible fixed assets are iniilally measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost. net of depreciation and any impairrnent losses. Depreciation is recognised 50 as to write off the cost of assets less their residual values overtheir useful Ilves on the followin8 base5- Furniture and office equipment Motorvehicles 20% reducing balance 20% reducing balance The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset 15 determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the assei, and 15 recognised in net incomellexpenditurelforthe year. 1.6 Cash and cash equlvalents sh and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, othershort-term liquid investmentswith Original maturities of three rnonths or less, and bènkoverdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities. 1.7 Taxatlon The ch8rit3ble company is e/emptfrom corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

NOTESTOTHE FINANCIALSTATEMEPITS ICONnNUEDI FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH Z024 2 crlilcalaccoun￿Th1 estimatesand jwJgtnnts In the applicion of the chariVs aecountin8 poI￿leS, theTrustees are required to make judgerner￿, estimate5 and as5UrnPtions about thetarryin8 amount of a￿ets and liabilitie5 that are not readily appamt from other sources. The estimates and associated assumpt￿￿5 are based on historical experience and otherfattors that are consideredio be relevant. Attual ￿Ults may differfrom these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptK)rbs are reviewedon an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are ￿CO&nISed in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and futvre periodswherethe revision affects tK)th current and futufe periods. 3 Charkable acthiltles 2024 2013 Activity costs 433.650 433.650 348.414 348,414 Share of 5UPFX)rt costs15ee note 41 Share of 8oveTnance costs Isee note 41 25,756 1.078 26834 2,974 1,078 4,052 Analysls by fund Vnre5tricted funds Restricred funds 331.757 241.780 128.727 110.686 460.484 352,466 4 Support costs Support Go¥ernan ZOZ3 Basts of allo¢attoft Sundry costs. travel, bank 25.756 Accountancy Independent examination 25.756 2.974 1,078 1.078 1078 Governance Analysed between Charitable attivitie5 25.756 1,078 26.834 4,052 Governance costs include payments to the Independent Examiner of £1.078 including irrecoverableVAT 12023- £1,078) io

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL ￿ATEMEKfS ICOllnNUEDI FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 S Trustee5 Tnlstees remvneration forthe year was 0.12023: 01 Trustees remuneration may cornprise fees paid toTnfjtee5. vtherethey prowde professional 5eMces to the Charity. No Trustee was paid to ￿ as a Tritsiee. 6 Debtors 2024 2023 Trade debtors crued incorne 31.475 4,805 20.714 77434 102,953 HMAC 77,800 109,275 7 Credltors: amounts fallln8 due withln one year 2024 2023 Trade creditors Accruals HMRC Is￿08 38.271 12,185 24.942 49J54 5,526 Prwsions 66.264 80,322 8 Employe The average monthly number ofemployees was 512023..21. Totsl salaries and benefits paid to key managernent personnel were £66,29212023- £34,698lwith no individual paid more than £37?2312023.. £34,698). 9 Llmlted byguarantee The charitable company is constituted zs a company limr(ed byguarantee. In theeventof wnding up the Ilabilsty of theguarantors is Itmrted to £1 each. li