Photo by Drew Forsyth
MUSHROOM LANGUAGE
Fungi are the third kingdom on earth. More like us than we realise, they are closer to animals than plants. Fungi can digest plastic and toxic waste, solve mazes, woo pigs, collaborate with plants to form lichen and change our brain chemistry. Mushrooms are slightly magical - and that’s before we get to psychedelics. To study fungi is to study death, birth, our changing planet and our inner landscapes
Mushroom Language is a show about the cycles that shape us - eruption, reproduction and decay. It’s about role-playing the lichen love stories, spore shoot-outs and truffle siren songs found in our forests. What are the mushrooms trying to tell us?
Mushroom Language takes the form of dreamlike conversations between two performers (Ali Matthews and Tom Halls) that track a mushroom’s lifespan, a stunning synth-led score by composer Hannah Miller (Moulettes) and striking design by Rūta Irbīte and Jamie Simmons.
Currently in R&D thanks to support from Arts Council England and the British Mycological Society, with in-kind support from Wainsgate Dances, Dartington Arts, Slung Low, Manchester Jewish Museum & Live Wild. Produced with support from Making Room and The Uncultured.
Mushroom Language is a show about the cycles that shape us - eruption, reproduction and decay. It’s about role-playing the lichen love stories, spore shoot-outs and truffle siren songs found in our forests. What are the mushrooms trying to tell us?
Mushroom Language takes the form of dreamlike conversations between two performers (Ali Matthews and Tom Halls) that track a mushroom’s lifespan, a stunning synth-led score by composer Hannah Miller (Moulettes) and striking design by Rūta Irbīte and Jamie Simmons.
Currently in R&D thanks to support from Arts Council England and the British Mycological Society, with in-kind support from Wainsgate Dances, Dartington Arts, Slung Low, Manchester Jewish Museum & Live Wild. Produced with support from Making Room and The Uncultured.