One of the surprises of the year so far has been the growing reputation of Bradford theatre company Paper Zoo.

Over Easter their performance of The Passion in Centenary Square in somewhat inclement weather was watched by up to 1,000 people - easily the largest single audience the company has attracted since they formed in September, 2005.

On Valentine's night they staged a one-off show of poetry and song at Bradford College's Old Building with a selection of works ranging from Leonard Cohen to William Shakespeare, Charles Aznavour to Prince, Wendy Cope to Carol Ann Duffy.

So pleased were they with the response to the show, devised and directed by cast member Julia O'Keefe, that they are taking a version of it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.

Before then, however, there'll be two chances to enjoy Paper Zoo's original and entertaining style of cabaret - performing some songs as dramatic monologues and others as rousing ensemble pieces.

On July 10 and 11 they will be putting on a variation of the Valentine's show at Bradford Cathedral's Artspace, starting at 7.30pm. It will be slightly longer than the original version.

Ben Eagle, 24, actor and co-founder of the company, said: "We got some really good feedback for the Valentine's night show. We learned a lot from that, about how the company can work. We were doing poetry for the first time.

"Cabaret is another string to our bow and we are going to work on it. The Cathedral shows will be a preview of the show we are taking to Edinburgh. We want to see how the audience reacts or doesn't react.

"It's going to be pretty much the same as the Bradford College show. The theme of love will be the same, with songs, poems and excerpts; but there will be some new material too because we have a new cast member, Stuart Davies.

"He's replacing Kate Shackleton, who is pregnant. Stuart played Scrooge in our production of A Christmas Carol in December."

The two Cathedral shows will consist of seven actors and a guitarist, yet to be confirmed. Eight, including the guitarist Darren Dutson-Bromley, will be going to Edinburgh in August.

"Going to the Fringe is so fantastic and exciting," Ben added. "We are doing seven nights in The Augustine Studio. I think it's part of a church complex, but it looks like a proper studio theatre and seats about 100.

"It's costing us £1,000 to hire the venue. That and part of the cost of sharing a rather nice apartment in central Edinburgh comes out of the Paper Zoo account because on everything we have done so far we have made a little bit of money."

That is a feat in itself, but then Paper Zoo seems to have the happy knack of finding a good range of material, from Samuel Beckett to Joe Orton, Shakespeare to Charles Dickens. They have also attracted larger-than-life actor Brian Blessed as patron. Ben added: " The people running the Fringe have been helpful, advising us how to promote the show, to make it stand out because there is so much competition.

"Tom Sandford, chairman of The Priestley, put in a good word for us. He wanted to know why we wanted to do the show in Edinburgh. We told him we wanted to be part of an exciting event and that the experience would help us to grow. He said they were the right answers and he really helped us out," he said.

However, before the shows at the Cathedral and Edinburgh, Paper Zoo will be staging a production of George Orwell's novel Animal Farm from June 21 to 28. The venues have not been confirmed but are likely to include Haworth, Knaresborough and possibly Bradford or Halifax.

"Finding the right venue in Bradford is difficult. The Alhambra Studio is expensive, Bingley Arts Centre seems to be booked up for years in advance. Apart from The Priestley, there isn't a medium-sized theatre," Ben added.

  • Tickets for the two shows at Bradford Cathedral on July 10 and 11 cost £7 and £5 and can be booked in advance by ringing (01274) 777720, or on the door.