Estado Vegetal, by Manuela Infante, (Chile) as part of CLIMAKAZE 2019
Synopsis:
Manuela Infante is a renowned Chilean playwright, director, writer and musician and is arguably one of the most prolific and interesting voices in contemporary theater in Chile and Latin America. Between 2001 and 2016 she worked as a playwright and director of the highly regarded Teatro de Chile. Outside of Chile, her work has been presented in Holland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, and the United States, including “On the Beach,” curated by Robert Wilson and premiered at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York following an artistic residence at The Watermill Center.
Infante’s most recent piece, “Estado Vegetal” or “Vegetative State” is a riveting one-woman show based on the revolutionary thinking of plant philosopher Michael Marder and plant neurologist Stefano Mancuso. “Vegetative State” probes the ways in which new concepts such as plant intelligence, vegetative soul, or plant communication can change human perspectives. In Michael Marder’s words, “recognizing a ‘valid other’ in plants is also beginning to recognize that vegetative other within us.”
“Vegetative State” dances tirelessly around an impossible dialogue, that of humans and plants. This failed dialogue with nature has perhaps become our most innate monologue. “Vegetative State” has toured to Spain, Singapore and Switzerland and is performed with English surtitles.
The 2018-2019 U.S. tour of “Estado Vegetal” is supported in part by Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America.
Presented in Spanish with English supertitles.
Reviews
"Estado Vegetal (vegetable state) is the latest genre- bending work by writer-director Manuela Infante—her first “vegetable play, not an animal play” that tests the limits of anthropocentrism, which has been her prime artistic interest for ten years."
MCA Stage - Chicago
Approximate running time: 70 minutes with no intermission.