With actors and puppets, at the heart of the comedic production - which is touring community venues around the region - are issues around plastic recycling, including the environmental and economic impact of producing, using, and discarding, plastic items.
Among the three-person cast are Coventry actor Aizah Khan.
"It's a fun, playful look into some of the complicated issues surrounding plastics in our world today," explains Aizah.
"Through the gaze of a plastic bottle called PET#1 and his puppet friends, we learn just how complex this issue has become and why we have a shared responsibility in finding solutions that help more than hinder.”
Born and raised in Walsgrave, Coventry, and now residing "between Tile Hill and Walsgrave", Aizah trained as an actor at Coventry University, graduating in 2015.
“[The course was a] great platform from which to begin my exploration of collaboration,” she says of the BA in Theatre and Professional Practice. “[It] pushed participants into using skill sets to create new companies and exercise work in a creative and accessible manner across the styles of theatre.”
She’s since amassed a variety of stage and screen credits including the UK and Ireland tour of the theatre adaptation of author Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi and West Mids-set BBC Three drama Phoenix Rise, as well as A Christmas Carol (for The Albany Theatre, Coventry) and roles with Talking Birds, RoguePlay Theatre and Birmingham REP.
For The Many Lives of PET#1, Aizah takes several roles, including the lead character, PET#1 - a plastic water bottle who, having began life as food packaging before being recycled into a bottle, is now potentially facing the end of his lifecycle.
"All three performers - myself, Craig Stephens and Jack Trow - alternate between real characters and puppets, so we actually have many roles," she says.
These include representatives from government, business and campaigning groups, as well as various plastic characters, such as a bin bag!
Says Aizah: "I think people will certainly enjoy and relate to most of the characters in the show.”
The production was actually inspired by an academic report from the Birmingham Plastics Network, who are based at the University of Birmingham. But as Aizah stresses, the production is far from being a lecture.
"It's very funny and tackles the subject matter in a way that really brings it to life.
"You won't leave and scientist but you will be entertained!
"Definitely not to be missed!"
◼ Stan's Cafe's The Many Lives of PET#1 visits Coventry Boys and Girls Club, 50 Whitefriars Street, Coventry CV1 2DS, on Friday 11 April 2025, at 7pm. Tickets are £10 from https://stans.cafe