There is a recurring piece of dialogue running through the play Scenes from the Climate Era that seems to perfectly suit my reaction to the production – “people go through three stages when they’re getting to grips with climate change. Denial. Solutions. Grief, and then on the other side, hope”.
The play opens with a couple arguing over the morality of having a baby when the world seems to be descending into environmental chaos and, as one character points out, the proposed solutions can be just as environmentally damaging as the current causes.
It perfectly illustrates that what lies at the heart of the ensuing climate crises is humanity’s inability to agree on anything and that our woeful self-interest leads to destruction.
Jumping back and forth in time at a frenetic pace we witness individuals, organisations and governments arguing over and mostly avoiding admitting what has been obvious for years.
What the play does well is excoriate us for creating this situation and pours scorn on some of the outlandish schemes meant to fix it such as seeding the atmosphere with sulphur dioxide to reflect sunlight, or building concrete barriers in the sea off the Antarctic coast to prevent a gigantic glacier from sliding into the ocean.
While those seem whacky, the play also takes aim at things like wind farms and solar, yes, they are part of the solution, but what none of these ideas do is change the fundamentally wasteful ways humans consume energy and just about every other resource we get our hands on.
Scene after scene lays bare the appalling negligence of world governments and business over decades as they fail to stick to any agreements at the regular UN conferences on climate change.
This is all pretty distressing but where Scenes from the Climate Era really punches you in the gut is in the personal stories, particularly those close to home.
We bear witness to the destruction of a forest near Taupo over thirty years as species of birds die out; a man trying to save his disabled mother as a category four storm hits Gisborne; a family in Sydney struggling to breathe as the daytime temperature hits 55 degrees Celsius day after day.
Of course it’s not just humanity suffering. There’s a depressing roll-call of extinction as species after species dies off and how the last of each unique form of life is given a human name such as Lonesome George, Celia or Martha. The saddest of all was Toughie, a tree frog in captivity who called for a mate but his cries went unanswered. They call all these final ones ‘endlings’, another euphemism that doesn’t quite capture the desperation.
I detected a restless nervousness at times within the cast but this is a play that is filled with such energy. Its turbulent mix of drama and humour serves as a warning to us and I think the actors imbibed that energy and used it to their advantage. The performances were most potent in the more personal stories which were delivered with captivating honesty and emotion.
My one criticism of the show is that there were a few moments where the soundtrack overpowered the dialogue. Sounds of thunder and music and other effects enhanced the dramatic elements, but occasionally blotted out the spoken words.
Scenes from the Climate Era is unsettling but theatre is meant to challenge us at times and what we need right now is a clarion call that will jolt our civilisation out of its complacency. The road ahead is uncertain, but what this play expertly shows is that challenges can be overcome, and the future has not yet arrived. So it’s ok to wallow in some denial, proffer solutions, experience grief, and finally feel hope.
Photo credit – Andi Crown
SCENES FROM THE CLIMATE ERA
2-24 August 2024
