On November 5th 2016, Paula Varjack found herself queuing at 4am, outside a shopping centre in east London, for the collaboration between the high-end designer KENZO and high street label H&M. Five hours later, she and twenty others were given ten minutes to shop a cordoned-off section of a store. After paying at a till staffed by applauding sales assistants, she emerged carrying the largest shopping bag she'd ever carried, in a complete daze. What had just happened? What was it about Kenzo?
THE CULT OF K*NZO is a solo performance combining storytelling, videography, sound design and choreography, to playfully explore one woman's lifelong desire for luxury, the ways in which brands create that desire, and the journey of one man's dream to become a fashion designer. Across all of these stories are outsiders, the tension between inclusion and exclusion, and the mysterious allure of high-end. Why do we want the things that we want? What's in a brand?
Co-commissioned by Camden People's Theatre and Battersea Arts Centre. Developed at Barbican Open Lab, ARC, Live Art Bistro, The Marlborough, The Bikeshed, Poplar Union and rehearsed at Old Diorama Arts Centre. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Tobi King Bakare and this theatre deserve a shout-out for such a young, diverse audience. There is so much talk about audiences being full of over 60s and why, why can’t theatres get the crowds in to reflect society in general? Well, I’m happy to say that on a rainy Thursday evening, the theatre was completely full.
Caiti Grove on Before I Go in CPT's Spring 2023 season London Theatre Reviews
