Seems like nothing is going on. Living beings, usually relegated completely to the background of my experience stand still, extremely slowly absorbing materials from their environment, extending their bodies, transmuting carbon to biomass, reaching for light, perhaps flowering, forming seeds, swaying in the wind. Music is playing. Mycorhizzae entangled with their roots, pores open to the free wind, the beings communicate with one another, as well as other beings. The performance is on. These beings don’t understand my language. Like I don’t understand theirs. Still, we do share the wild prospect of existing and being alive, exchanging gasses, aesthetic and vital entanglement – perhaps a stronger connection than it initially seems.

Kasvien elämästä (On the Life of Plants), a contemporary visual performance co-produced by Bredenberg & Taussi, Teatteri Quo Vadis and Tehdas Teatteri is built on a performers practice developed by Mikko Bredenberg, Mira Taussi and Minerva Kautto. They have asked plants to direct them. And it does seem that with all the stillness, seriously nonchalant silliness, determined expansiveness and high precision presence going on on stage, that the plants are not half bad in directing at all. I am happily operating this show as it runs still this sunday and next week in Jokistudio, Turku – and hopefully later on elsewhere as well!

If you are interested in absurd approaches taken seriously, being deliberate about being with other kinds of beings, perhaps just high quality minimalist aesthetics, good contemporary and/or classical music and/or a high dose of performative sunlight in the dead of Finnish winter, you should come see us.

Working Group

Directing / Mikko Bredenberg ja Mira Taussi
On stage / Mikko Bredenberg, Mira Taussi ja Minerva Kautto
Sound design / Antti Puumalainen
Costume design / Tiina Helin
Production / Krista Mäkinen
Technical operation / Valtteri Alanen

Coproduction

Quo Vadis, Tehdas Teatteri, Bredenberg&Taussi

P.S the sound design and music is not mine, but it’s really fucking good. You seriously should come.