Jennifer says the mental and physical characteristics of playing a guinea pig while still relating her to her “humanness” is a wonderful challenge.

Theatre company Nightsong is preparing another ingenious show starring Waiheke actress Jennifer Ludlum. The play I Want to be Happy will run from 18 August at Herald Theatre in Auckland.

Jennifer plays Binka, a guinea pig trapped in a laboratory cage and desperate to escape. Laboratory assistant Peter [Joel Tobeck] just wants to get the love of his life back. Neither understand each other, yet everyday they share their hopes and fears and both just want the same thing: to be happy again.

“I’ve always admired Nightsong’s work and the poetic surrealism of Carl Bland’s straight-from-the-heart writing,” says Jennifer. “I was in Nightsong’s highly successful Mr Red Light that recently toured New Zealand. Their theatrical magic often includes giant or tiny puppets and great music. This sort of theatre inspires and surprises me. It’s fun.”

The actress says the mental and physical characteristics of playing a guinea pig while still relating her to her “humanness” is a wonderful challenge. • Silva Masa

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