The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2025 - Issue 37

bitetheatre ceptions, led by Botard, who seems to love playing devil’s ad- vocate in the argument and inadvertently calling those who had seen it and their claims ‘ignorant’. “An example of collec- tive psychosis.” There is speculation about a missing work colleague, Mr Boeuf, before his wife, also played by Hayley Carmichael, there to deliver a telegram message about her husband’s illness, arriving wailing and agitated, claiming a rhinoceros had followed her from home. They realise that the rhinoceros has stumped through their office staircase, so they are trapped and call for the Fire Brigade. At this point, a front-row au- dience member is volunteered by our narrator and then di- rected to play the snort-sounding kazoo instrument. We are informed of what it is, its origin and how it had previously been described as a ‘nondescript instrument of torture’, rais- ing more audience laughs. Mrs Boeuf realises that her hus- band is the rhinoceros in the street (our volunteer audience member giving soft snorting noises from the kazoo). “I can’t leave him like that!” She jumps out of the window onto its back (jumps off the stage and clings to the back of the bemused audience member), and they both gallop off through the audience to the back of the auditorium. Botard, finally believing in prior claims and re- marks, said, “I’m not content to simply state that a phenom- enon exists. I make it my business to understand and explain it. I will explain it one day. Even the man in the streets knows about it. Only hypocrites pretend not to understand”. The Fire Engine crew rescues them as the lights go down for the in- terval. During the interval break, some audience members were given a plastic kazoo. Our narrator directed us to ‘hum into the open end’ as a chorus of rhinoceroses at various intervals during the last acts of the play and upon his direction. The play reopens to a scene at Jean’s flat, with him lying down. Berenger visits him to apologise, and he initially accepts his apology. However, as the visit proceeds, he gets more irritated and insults Berenger, who becomes quite worried at the bump forming above Jean’s nose, his voice changing, and his skin turning green. Jean becomes more irritated, especially about his clothes. He eventually takes off his pyjamas to reveal a grey-green PVC all-in-one catsuit (audience cue: more laughter). He rag- es aggressively, scaring Berenger, who wants to call the doctor but is disallowed to. Jean goes into a monologue about hu- manity from an animal’s point of view. “What’s wrong with being a rhinoceros? I’m all for change.” He insults Berenger even more despite his concern for his health and physical changes. He makes a poignant claim given that the clever casting has Berenger the only one not dressed in white but the only African-heritage actor in the play. Jean gets more vicious and animal-like, so Berenger flees for safety. “Can’t you leave my skin alone? I certainly wouldn’t want to change it for yours”. The next scene is a few days later; Berenger is drunk, asleep and having a nightmare. His head is tightly bandaged across his forehead. He goes through a lamenting monologue in his dream while most of the ensemble circles around the square staging, doing animalistic choreography movements and humming the kazoo at various intervals and volumes. “Inten- tional solidarity and rule-based order.” Doudard, Old Gent and Miss Daisy visit him, and they discuss the different peo- ple having changed, especially his best friend, Jean. “He was Sophie Steer