Popular Manchester poet and performer Chanje Kunda used her PPI claim to fund a dream career in theatre. She will premiere her new work Superposition at The Lowry Thu 26 & Fri 27 October.
Chanje Kunda was selected as part of The Lowry’s ‘Developed With’ scheme at the start of 2017. Over the course of the year she has been working toward launching her brand new show Superposition at the Salford venue.
The rags to riches story of Chanje Kunda and her drive to succeed is inspiring for all hopeful theatre makers. She decided to fund her earlier work ‘Amsterdam’ through her PPI claim after rejection from arts funding bodies.
Chanje said “As a single parent with no savings and credit card debts, this was going to be a challenge. I was approached by a PPI compensation rep on the street. As I had several credit cards over the years I filed for charges refund and was successful. This provided the cash I needed to pay for rehearsal space.
“I had a lawn mower in my shed, so I decided to start a gardening business mowing lawns on evenings and weekends and put the money earned towards the show. My best friend and my sister donated cash. Contact theatre agreed for me to stage the show there. The show went on to be a success nationally and internationally and was nominated for several awards.”
Amsterdam launched at Contact Theatre in 2014 and went on to have a successful international tour. Chanje Kunda will premiere Superposition at The Lowry Thu 26 & Fri 27 October.