'I prefer plants to people...', Chanje Kunda declares, reclining on a sofa, surrounded by foliage, sipping a glass of white wine, '...at least they don't talk shit to me'. Kunda's autobiographical spoken word piece, Plant Fetish, makes this lifestyle strangely appealing, as she takes you through the events that led her to discover how plants... Continue Reading →
Cuts of the Cloth – HOME, Manchester
Welcome to the Living History Museum of Hearts and Minds. Exhibit 091101 has successfully completed the Muslim Realignment Programme and will deliver a series of seminars about how to catch the seeds of dissent before they turn into radical extremism. 'DO NOT TOUCH. FRAGILE EXHIBIT.' In a haunting scenario echoing The Handmaid's Tale or Charlie Brooker's... Continue Reading →
Learning to Swim on an Ironing Board – HOME, Manchester
Amidst the chaos of Brexit, it is easy to miss an important debate that happened in parliament this week. Fibromyalgia is a condition with 'too many syllables to be anything other than shite'. It causes excruciating pain, chronic fatigue and forgetfulness (fibro-fog). After a petition attracted over 115,000 signatures, MPs debated this week whether fibromyalgia... Continue Reading →
Learning to Swim on an Ironing Board – “It’s a metaphor for living with an invisible disability”. An interview with Conor A.
Learning to Swim on an Ironing Board is a new piece commissioned by HOME theatre in Manchester, as part of their annual Push Festival, aimed at promoting emerging creative talent across the region. I caught up with spoken word artist Conor A. to discuss his new show and the impact fibromyalgia has on his on... Continue Reading →