“The Enchanted Garden”
Cadieux Stage
4925 Cadieux Rd.
Detroit
Sept. 13
The vibes are immaculate. The fairies have gathered, draped in sky blue with butterflies, flowers, and pearls nestled in their hair. White-clad hostesses glide across the floor like spirit guides with golden auras as they lead people to their seats.
We, the fae folk and other whimsical creatures of fables, have gathered here at Cadieux Stage for “The Enchanted Garden,” a hair and fashion show produced by multidisciplinary collective Everything Weird. The immersive production took place across three acts based on the elements — earth, water, wind, and fire.
Floor-length braids and hair sculpted to the gods sauntered the winding runway around the room. Earth element models transformed into creatures that walked, staggered, and crawled, adorned with patches of moss and ferns. Cowrie shells and blueish grey hues colored the water models, while the air walkers donned clothing barely there, and the fire element turned both ominous and regal.
The audience was as much a part of the show as the models, as we were encouraged to dress in flowing blue fabrics to match the garden whimsy theme.
“The Enchanted Garden,” representing the higher self, is the final installment of the collective’s trilogy following “Everything Weird” in 2022, representing the inner child, and “CUSP” in 2025, representing the shadow self.
Here is a creative retelling of “The Enchanted Garden.”
ACT 1: ORIGINS — Earth
We are women of moss
Ethereal spirits of the forest who coat the earth with lush swatches of life
Golden bangles around our necks and wrists
Deep in the forest
the horned god lies
in wait with braids white
like snow on tree branches
To disturb his slumber is to stand before creation itself
and ask what importance
humanity has
When the beings that came before us
needed far less
than jobs, and titles, and money
to live a prosperous life
He awakens suffocating in plastic
That we have left carelessly in his kingdom
A prince crowned with golden ferns
Crawls through the human wasteland
Seeking solace that cannot be found
And poison follows behind him
Her ivy green skin fraught with anger
Gaze set to kill, in revolt against the humanity
That has poisoned the trees
ACT II: BECOMING — WATER
Water is subtle
Her waves start gentle before swallowing
you into her depths
Cowrie shells dangle and fibers weave
Like blue hued seaweed
Shades of violet and indigo
sweep across the ocean floor
Down in the depths, the mother of all life stirs
A tower of braids reaching toward the shore
Up from the abyss, where her treasures stay hidden
From those who have not dedicated
Their lives
Their spirit
Their blood
Their all
To excavating her secrets
Kelp laced pearls around her waist
Her fury stirs as she churns the tides
ACT III: ASCENSION — PHASE ONE: AIR
Invisible but for a veil
A spectre unseen
but presence undeniable
Ruffles and pleats the darkness
The tempest seethes
Swept away in the winds of change
She gives life and chokes it away
With smoke when humans burn down the trees
ACT III: ASCENSION — PHASE TWO: FIRE
The horned one screams in silent whispers
as she floats
Ignited
in robes of midnight emerald and sepia brown
sweeping the ashes of a barren earth
As she returns to the beginning
To the original inhabitants
After the humans have depleted Earth’s resources
In the ashes of civilization
All that will remain
is life
