I was excited when I heard that Gate Theatre would be staging a production of ‘Scenes From The Climate Era’ at The Playground Theatre this month, partly because I’ve heard good things about it, partly because of the contemporary themes, and partly because of the interesting structure it has.

It’s a European premiere for the play, which is by climate pro and writer David Finnigan, and is directed by Gate artistic lead Atri Banerjee.

I really wanted to find out more about the play and the talent behind it, so I arranged a chat with the playwright to do just that.

CM: Can you start by telling us what we can expect from the show in terms of format and style – what kind of performance is it and how is it structured? 
DF: The show is a series of 35 micro-plays, rapidfire short scenes that multiply and come together to create a portrait of the world of the 2020s.

In just over an hour, the play conjures up countless different universes to capture some of what it’s like to live through this dizzying moment in history.  

CM: Does it tell a story? 
DF: Not a traditional story from A to B – the play is more like an album, in which a series of songs evoke different moods and worlds and together take you on a journey.

CM: What themes are explored through the show?
DF: At the turn of the 2020s, the climate movement abruptly shifted into a new phase.

Governments and businesses suddenly escalated their climate commitments, while fossil fuel lobbyists swapped out denial for greenwashing tactics.

New activist movements initiated a wave of direct action – property destruction, rent strikes and attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure.

In science journals and academic conferences, radical solutions were debated and tested which would have been unthinkable just a decade ago.

And everywhere, extreme weather and climate impacts hit harder and faster than expected. We’ve already hit major tipping points which have pushed us past a point of no return.

The play is a mosaic of snapshots that illustrate some of the wildest and strangest aspects of living in this new world.

CM: What was the inspiration for this? What made you want to make work about this and what creative process have you been through in bringing it to the stage? 
DF: As a society, we’ve been talking about climate change for the last 50 years, and I’ve been working in the space for the last 20.

About six to seven years years ago, everything shifted. This is the time of the school strikes, Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Future movement, Extinction Rebellion, Sunrise. Suddenly there was this huge wave of activism, a huge wave of energy.

I’m deep in this space and yet, even for me, the shift in conversation was dizzying. So I started writing this show purely to try and capture some of the incredible things unfolding in all these different spaces: in policy, in activism, in science, in climate denial, on the frontline of impacts.

And that’s what this show is – 35 short snapshots, the most fascinating stories from the real world of the last few years. 

CM: Is it political? Who is it aimed at? Do you want to send a message, and if so, do you think it’s possible to help effect change via artistic endeavours?
DF: This show is for anyone who’s curious about the world – anyone who’s at all interested in this incredible moment in the earth’s history that we’re all living through.

I don’t know what this will make you feel – when I look at this stuff, I feel so much: dread, fear, anger, grief, all the classics – but also, it’s euphoric and exhilarating as well.

The earth is transforming around us. And we’re alive in this moment, and we’re aware, and we can see it. We’re a part of it! We can do something about it! What an incredible gift, to be here together, to be able to talk about it, to be able to share it.

There’s no message: We just want to give you an amazing 80 minutes, and hit you with some of the wildest and most extraordinary stories from the cutting edge of climate science and policy and activism.

We want to share with you stories and secrets you might not have seen before, play some great music and then be DONE, one act no interval, and then go get a drink or a meal and talk about it.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?  
DF: I’m a consultant on climate and disaster risk for NGOs, governments and thinktanks.

I’ve worked with groups like the UN and the World Bank on projects in Nepal, the Philippines and Romania, grappling with the shocks and impacts of climate change, and how we can respond and adapt to them.

All of that feeds into my work as a playwright, the theatre I want to make and stories I want to tell.

CM: What made you decide to write plays?
DF: I love theatre more than anything – the experience of gathering a group of people together for a live performance, it’s like nothing else. And especially when it comes to a huge subject like the climate.

We grew up in a world that we thought was a certain way, we were educated for a world that no longer exists – and now we’re taking stock of the world we actually live in and it means rethinking everything.

And we can’t do that alone. No-one can. And theatre allows us to bring a group of people together to think about how we’re going to travel through this new world.

CM:What’s coming up next for you after this?
DF: I’m originally from Ngunnawal country in Australia, but I work now mostly in London, New York and Manila. My next big theatre project is a commission from the Public Theater in New York, in development right now!

Gate Theatre’s production of ‘Scenes From The Climate Era’ is on at The Playground Theatre until 24 Oct. See this page here for details and to book. 

LINKS: gatetheatre.co.uk | theplaygroundtheatre.org.uk | davidfinig.com