Manchester-based poet, playwright, and performer Chanje Kunda debuts her new one-woman show Plant Fetish – which first appeared as a work-in-progress performance in HOME’S Push Festival in January this year – at HOME for four performances, Wed 27 – Sat 30 Nov 2019. Plant Fetish will then go on a UK tour in 2020.
Chanje Kunda was suffering with stress and anxiety when she first discovered that plants soothe the soul – plants are trending with millennials and there are hashtags on Instagram such as #plants which has 32 million posts, and #plantsofinstagram with nearly four million posts.
She discovered a book called Plant Style that explained that plants reduce stress, and increase creativity and productivity, before learning that some women in Mexico, fed up with men, were getting married to trees in lavish wedding ceremonies which also drew attention to the major environmental issue of mass deforestation. This development also flagged up the issue of women’s success in life being judged by their marital status.
Trees aren’t very talkative, but they are tall, do great things for the planet, and are renowned for their wood. Inspired, Chanje surrendered to this notion. Chanje fell in love with plants: fleshy succulents, cheese-plant monsteras’ hand-shaped leaves, the Venus flytrap, the twining of a creeper. The pressures of life drifted away. While we are forever comparing our lives to those of others on social media and the superficial numbers game that is dating via online apps, Plant Fetish inspires you to embrace foliage over FOMO!
Plant Fetish show maps this journey, and features a harem of stunning tropical plants adorning the www. There will be music and movement, dramatic narrative and metaphors of growth and renewal. And to cap it all, the show ends on a climax…
“I started buying and cultivating lots of plants in a bid to save myself and the planet from impending demise,” Chanje explains. “It changed my life and I decided to make a show about it. The show is a celebration of diversity, and is designed to inspire people to reclaim the right to experience joy, to dance and enjoy exotic plants and nature, outside of the ideologies that make people stressed out in the first place. Engaging with plants and nature is a pleasurable way to lead more enjoyable and less stressful lives by becoming mindful of the beauty of creation.”
PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
Wed 27 November 2019, 19:30
Thu 28 November 2019, 19:30 (press night performance)
Fri 29 November 2019, 19:30
Sat 30 November 2019, 19:30
TICKETS £12.50 (concessions £10.50)
