The Many Lives Of PET #1, by Stan’s Cafe and commissioned by plastics experts at the University of Birmingham, will explore our relationship to plastics.
The Many Lives Of PET #1, a complicated comedy about a plastic bottle, by Stan’s Cafe and commissioned by plastics experts at the University of Birmingham, will explore our relationship to plastics.
A new theatre production, The Many Lives Of PET #1, by acclaimed Birmingham theatre company Stan's Cafe will examine the complex issue of plastic usage. The light-hearted yet thought provoking new production is set to tour community venues in and around the city from 29 March to 12 April 2025.
The theatre production was commissioned by the Birmingham Plastics Network at the University of Birmingham.
With a cast of colourful characters, the tabletop comedy/drama asks us to consider how we use plastic as the hero of the production, PET #1 – previously food packaging, now mechanically recycled into a clear bottle – finds himself discarded, and facing an uncertain future. Is this the end of the line for PET #1? Or could he live on?
This project communicates important messages and knowledge about plastics in a way that is engaging and understandable, and might just help to drive the kind of action needed to address the crisis in a meaningful way.
Intended for single use, it's used to make a huge range of products including, significantly, disposable water and drink bottles. Resilient and adaptable, products created using PET are regarded safe for single use, but what we do with them next is one of the big questions posed by The Many Lives of PET #1.
Dr Christopher Windows-Yule, Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering and member of the Birmingham Plastics Network, said: "The plastic waste crisis is one of the great, global challenges facing society today. But it's a massively complex subject, surrounded by all kinds of confusion and misinformation.
“This project communicates important messages and knowledge about plastics in a way that is engaging and understandable, and might just help to drive the kind of action needed to address the crisis in a meaningful way."
James Yarker, co-director, said: "PET #1 and his friends are tragic figures in a way - they’re really useful but no one wants them around, and alternatives aren’t always much better. The solution is a bit of a riddle that we’re all trying to work out.
“Working on the show has made me much more aware of the role of plastic in our world, and in small but significant ways that’s changed my habits - maybe it will do the same for our audiences? But whatever happens, I’m confident they’ll have fun with PET #1.”
The Many Lives of PET #1 opens at the University of Birmingham city centre location, The Exchange, Centenary Square, Birmingham, on 29 March 2025. It then moves to venues in Deritend (31 Mar), Quinton (1 Apr), Stirchley (2 Apr), Northfield (3 Apr), Handsworth (4 Apr), Kings Heath (5 Apr), Erdington (5 Apr), Moseley (7 Apr), Kingstanding (8 Apr), Hockley (9 Apr), Stourbridge (10 Apr), Coventry (11 Apr), and Balsall Heath (12 Apr).
Tickets cost £10 and can be booked at the Stan’s Cafe website.
Notes to editors
About the University of Birmingham
About the Birmingham Plastics Network
About Stan’s Cafe
Listings
The Many Lives of PET #1
Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering
Kit Windows-Yule is a Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, working jointly with the School of Physics and Astronomy's Positron Imaging Centre.
