Theatre Review - Two Plant Gaysians : Love, Identity and Botany

Written by Fa Mengkarak Hussain

If our plants can thrive maybe we can too

Being from the older LGBTQIA generation, I can vouch that the garden centre is our theme park, which is a sign of growing into the middle aged queer. So to watch a story about being queer and horticulturalism - how could I not?

However this isn’t about the older queer community going on a trip to Homebase. This is a story based on the lives of its writers and sole cast characters, Ghost and John. Combining stunning choreography, a unique plot line and nostalgic soundtrack, Two Plant Gaysians beguiles its audience with story of love, identity and botany set in different countries on opposite sides of the globe. The backdrop is simple, a chandelier of flowers in front of a screen with personal videos of the couple cycling through London, music videos of nostalgic Cantopop and closed captions of the script which is in both Cantonese and English.

It starts off with an elephant outside the room. Yep, this play has elephants, flipping between situations of facing them in person to breathing just outside the front door. Tackling issues of sexuality, race, mental health and acceptance, the story combines yearning, sadness and light hearted humorous approaches to these issues.

The play sprints the audience on journey from London to Hong Kong, connecting the two countries through a deep rooted network of plants. Two lovers in Hong Kong discuss marriage under an age old tree expressing their concerns on their families acceptance. The discussion evolves into a private wedding ceremony in London, sans the usual traditional Chinese wedding traditions but surrounded by a memorable landscape. There are no red packets, presents of gold or supportive relatives-just oak and sycamore trees bearing witness. Family acceptance is not the only thing the couple contend with, as they cover Asian fetishisation, British colonisation, world atrocities and a sense of belonging after relocating from one country to another. Scenes switch from present to past until the hilarious sketch accompanied by a dance where we finally face the literal elephants in the room- a pair of trained circus elephants living in a sanctuary still going through the motions which they were forced to do, even though they are supposed to be ‘free.’ This is elaborated with comparing the mental state of the protagonist to a thunderstorm, anxiously anticipating the storm and the uncertainty of how life will carry on. There are metaphors a plenty in this story, questioning renewed beginnings, shedding skin and even in the dance moves where fingers flutter representing birds flapping their wings.

Plants of course play a large role in this tale. They are the traditional medicines of the Paperbark tree and a silent confidant network. They are witnesses at a wedding and gifts securing a reverse fetish threesome from Daniel, Antonio and Tristan. They are interwoven not only into the lives of the couple but everyone, where there is beauty and chaos. In turn, Ghost and John create a captivating tribute to their plant friends which makes enjoyable and splendid theatre.