The Many Lives of PET #1

Science   Secondary School   Studio Theatre  

Thought provoking and hilarious in equal measure. Everyone needs to see this show!

Audience Member

A complicated comedy about a plastic bottle. Made to be enjoyed by adults (and children as well).

Poor old PET #1. Distantly related to pre historical plankton, used and cast aside every day, desperate not to be buried or cremated, now they’re at the heart of an almighty row between Big Business, Government and Joe Public who all love them and hate them at the same time. And that’s before the cousins #2 – #7 come on the scene!

Stan’s Cafe’s tabletop drama dives deep into the world of plastic.

Don’t lose your bottle.

Age guidance: 8+

Tour Dates

Credits

Devised and Performed by: Aizah Khan, Craig Stephens & Jack Trow
Directed by: Lori Hopkins & James Yarker
Text: James Yarker
Puppets: Ceridwen Brown
Produced by: Dominic Thompson
Commissioned by: The Birmingham Plastics Network (University of Birmingham)
In the Stan’s Cafe office: Beth Crossley & Michelle Smith
Production photographs: Graeme Braidwood
Tour photographs: Stan’s Cafe
Flyer & Poster Design: Simon Ford

With support from: Chemists’ Community Fund (Royal Society Of Chemistry), Lenovo, The Royal Society, The Sir Barry Jackson Trust

Download the original programme notes here.

Absolutely brilliant. Beautifully funny script, informative, thought provoking, provocative, wonderfully acted!

Audience Member

Very impressive work. Entertaining but the message was never lost. The urgency and size of the problem was well conveyed.

Audience Member

Well paced, fluent and well acted – kept attention while imparting a great deal of information. The puppets are an excellent device!

Audience Member

Schools Work

As part of pre-production Stan’s Cafe and The Birmingham Plastics Network toured a workshop to eight secondary schools. Year 10 students, as part of their GCSE science curriculum, learnt about the history, chemistry, ecology and possible future of plastics. Student responses to this workshop then fed into The Many Lives Of PET #1 which toured to the schools as a form of revision. The show performed to schools in the afternooon and at community venues in the evenings.

The workshop and live performance really got our students thinking about the world in which they live in, the choices that they make, and how what they learn in their GCSEs is relevant to the world around them.

Teacher Feedback, Four Dwellings Academy

The show was really useful in highlighting many aspects of the curriculum that students need to know; it made it really clear that there isn’t an easy fix or a right answer, but there are pro’s and con’s to all decisions when we’re thinking about living more sustainably.

Teacher Feedback, Hodge Hill Girls’ School

The performance was phenomenal and the performers from Stan’s Cafe were incredible. I would gladly recommend this performance and Stan’s Cafe to any other school.

Teacher Feedback, Jewellery Quarter Academy

On Tour

People:

Craig Stephens (Associate Director)

Jessica Melia

Jack Trow

Aizah Khan

James Yarker (Artistic Director)

Lori Hopkins