Every once in a while, people come up with a new idea for saving the ruined Earth, or at least for saving our species from the outcomes of our own rapid development. Fungi have become our most recent ally – creatures that have been underappreciated for so long and still remain a little mysterious, even for science. They perform invisible work and the majority of it is crucial for sustaining life on our planet. Yet, is this the reason to put so much responsibility on them?

Can fungi really decompose our trash, make our pollution harmless, save our land from erosion, provide us with alternative building materials, save us from cancer, cure us from depression, help with our fear of death and teach us empathy? Or are we expecting a little bit too much from them?

Anyway, the mycological mania is already happening: in science, pop culture, fashion and art. We are joining the trend – we would like to invite everyone to join a new formula of group therapy – mycotherapy, in “The Mushrooms”, our new show. We don’t treat it completely seriously, however, we are serious about the fears of our four patients that are trying to learn something from the non-human nature with the help of a therapist.

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Warning: people suffering from claustrophobia are asked to be careful due to the scenography changing during the show. More information will be provided by the ushers. Due to the layout of the seats, latecomers will not be let in.

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The premiere was a part of the Feminist Futures Festival and the show is a part of the Breaking the Spell project. More information: here.

The curator of the festival: Marta Keil, in cooperation with Agata Maszkiewicz and Grzegorz Reske. The producer: Olga Kozińska.

The partners: InSzPer (The Institute of Performative Arts – Instytut Sztuk Performatywnych), Komuna//Warszawa and Teatr Powszechny.

The project is co-funded and co-produced by Residenz Schauspiel Leipzig, Müncher Kammerspiele, InSzper and Viernulvier in Ghent.