SCENES FROM THE CLIMATE ERA: A STEP BACK AND TO THE SIDE
Last night, I got to go to Scenes From the Climate Era, a Belvoir St Theatre production, presented by Merrigong. And boy was I excited. As we took our comfy seat at IPAC, Lorde’s hit Solar Power was playing. We speculated if this was a curated playlist. Talking Head’s Burning Down the House might’ve been a good choice too.
There’s something so exciting about waiting for a play to begin, as everyone's taking their seats. I cracked a joke to a couple as I moved over in mine so they could get past. It was my first time in a theatre since year 12 Drama, where we had something known as Senior Subscription, where we got to go to about 8 plays a year (one of those being at the highly acclaimed Belvoir itself), so I felt quite at home as the lights dimmed down and the anticipation grew.
Not that many plays begin with a couple debating the environmental footprint and ethical responsibilities involved when it comes to becoming first-time parents in a world where things are seemingly going to shit. This was undeniably relatable, I might add. As a childless 23-year-old, I know myself and many of my friends have had similar conversations. Really makes you think, huh.
Courtesy of Brett Boardman
Now, when I heard I was going to a play with 65 scenes, I felt I’d be strapping myself in for a rollercoaster, but David Finnigan’s clever writing meant the scenes weaved in and out of each other seamlessly. As the 75 minutes ticked on, embedded were some sneaky references to other scenes for those paying attention–tying it all together in one past, present and future timeline. Cast member Abbie-lee and I spoke briefly about imagined futures, and how speculating on something that hasn’t happened yet, but might, can be useful in changing the way we look at our present. Watching the play, I was able to experience this in real time, as the actors conversed about a world where there were no longer any beaches, due to the melting of the ice caps.
Finnigan delves into the complexities from a political level (a.k.a corruption), and keeps going all the way down to the personal level–like one character, a wildlife rehabilitator, who wanted solar from his house, but preferred coal to wind turbines due to the danger they pose to birds. It goes to show how complex personal preferences towards the climate are, drummed up from a smorgasbord of beliefs and traits. It’s not a simple, black and white issue that’s copied and pasted from person to person.
The play was getting laughs left right and centre, thanks to discussions of “climate anthems” (I don’t know any), and a great phone-call between two characters in which the fourth wall was bulldozed, but also had some scenes that evoked some really stressful emotions, towards the play’s climax, as streams of sand were pouring from the sky–a reference to the sands of time? Can anyone from the team confirm? (EDIT: I JUST FIGURED IT OUT)
The play’s format was also interesting–reminiscent of Bertolt Brecht, for all you theatre nerds out there. Hello, can you hear me? In between each scene, the five actors would reset the stage, which was bare apart from five chairs and a table, while changing characters before our very eyes. A few times the actors spoke directly to the audience. This style of theatre can be really challenging to pull off (I know because I had to try in year 10, and embarrassingly I only made the audience super confused.), and it was really refreshing to see something different. Of course, it also had a dance break.
It’s a play with no promises, but leaves us with hope. It doesn’t give us a solution, or say switching to paper bags will solve all of our problems–but through a conversation with a therapist, a fire-fighter and an imaginary cat, it gets us to think forward. Through the different scenes, the play was able to reframe perspectives on climate change, by taking a step back to look at the bigger picture, but also a step to the side, to see it from a different angle. Like, yeah, one day we might live in a world without planes, or where heat-stroke-related deaths are common. As Abbie-lee said:
“The best way I can explain it is: you see a square, but if you turn the square, you can see another side of the square and it becomes a cube. And there’s different ways of looking at the things that we think we know to be true.”
Reflecting on Abbie-lee’s words when we spoke, that she’d left the theatre each night feeling grateful for what she had–I see what she meant, especially with Nelly’s Hot in Herre, playing us out of the theatre. But if you wanna know more, or you’ve been debating whether to go and catch this one, this is your sign that you absolutely should check out Scenes From the Climate Era.
It’s running at IPAC from the 14th-17th of May, with two shows on the Saturday. Take a look at tickets here.