Who is Petunia LittleTree? And what about her relationship with baby tree, Sally Semper Sprout, is so unnerving?
Finding Petunia LittleTree, by Sharon Took-Zozaya, is an engaging, humorous, yet bittersweet, physical theatre and dance solo suitable for audience members aged 9 to 90. Her original script and video combine with Quee MacArthur’s evocative sound score to reveal Petunia’s quirky, inconsistent emotional responses to the climate emergency through a compassionate lens. It tells part of our collective story, asking “How can we live with what we know, with humour, dark undertones and all?”
Like all humans, Petunia is a flawed character. She jumps between moods, styles and rhythms as shown by dynamic changes in her physicality, voice and costume. She’s awkward within herself and her role, yet genuinely strives to do her best, embodying an uncomfortable condition in which viewers may also find themselves. Her voice and movement embody contradictory reactions to the climate crisis in both comical and deeply moving ways as she explores and links themes such as communication among trees, the role of mycorrhizae in forest health, plastic pollution, the tree’s personal history of fire and deforestation, rewilding, forced immigration, and humans’ interdependence with the natural world. Her cognitive dissonances mirror those being played out more globally, asking audiences to reflect on and energize their own options and choices within the climate drama.
Quee MacArthur’s richly textured sound score amplifies imagery, movement and text as Petunia reveals her paradoxical relationship with a young tree that she treats like a baby. Lesley Downie’s set and costume design reinforce the visual impact of this piece. Video projections by Lorenz Gramann and Sharon Took-Zozaya feature dancers Melissa MacGillivray, Prriyanka Gonawalaa, Ruby Worth, Sarah DaBell and Simone Kenyon.
Since it’s premiere at Findhorn Bay Festival 2022, this piece has been performed to enthusiastic audiences at Citymoves’ DanceLive, The Eden Court’s One Touch Theatre, Central Primary School in Inverness and The Universal Hall.
Initial creation of this piece was supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland, Surge, The Work Room, Citymoves, and & in kind by Dance North, Hinterland Trust and Park Ecovillage Trust .
