F E S T I VA L T H E AT R E | Climate Change
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F rom the littering of Edinburgh’s streets with discarded flyers to the consumerist rhetoric of ‘bigger and better’ in the annual announcement of the programme, and from the number of visitors placing pressure on the city’s infrastructure to the invitation in 2018 for critics to fly to Scandinavia for an early review of a show that made dire warnings about a global collapse, some might argue that the Fringe doesn’t appear to have much of a conscience about environmental degradation.
Yet many shows over the past decade have made climate change their focus, encouraging audiences to think a little bit more about the wasteful culture that is driving the planet towards disaster. As the climate change catastrophe comes closer, theatremakers are not only driven to speak of the threat but, in some cases, encourage performances that are actually less destructive.
Most obviously, many companies take an aspect of environmental danger as the subject of their performance. Last year, Tom Bailey pondered the migration of birds, but for 2019 he addresses an immediate threat. ‘Vigil is about the sixth mass extinction of animal and plant life that we are currently experiencing. It’s happening now and it’s happening very fast,’ he says. ‘Our show explores all 26,000 names in the IUCN [International Union for Conservation of Nature] Red List of extinct, disappearing and endangered species. It may seem a lot, but it’s really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of actual species decline and extinction: there’s so much out there that is unknown.’ By homing in on a specific issue within the broader framework of climate change, Bailey’s Vigil follows a theatrical tradition of urgent content that engages with a public conversation. Rohan Gotobed, of Coast to Coast Theatre Company, expands on this practice. ‘I like my theatre to question the personal within the political. Play Before Birth puts this climate change catastrophe into four young women’s lives,
106 THE LIST FESTIVAL 31 Jul–7 Aug 2019
so our perspective shifts with their beliefs and agenda.’ Examining the consequences of human behaviour, Gotobed states that ‘this is a call to action: horror on stage.’
While Bailey and Coast to Coast have made efforts to limit their carbon footprints, other companies are working to move the message beyond the stage. BoxedIn Theatre are bringing The Greenhouse – a purpose-built, sustainable performance venue – to the Fringe with a mission of zero waste, alongside workshops and cheap entry, placing environmental cost at the heart of critical discussions. Artistic director Oli Savage explains ‘theatre isn’t just about the performance. At The Greenhouse, we believe good theatre has to be holistic. There is so much stuff that surrounds a theatrical production, why not use that to deliver a message as well?’ After visiting the Fringe in 2017 to research its environmental impact, Alice Boyd was moved to found Staging Change, ‘a growing network of performers, makers and venues who work together to improve the environmental sustainability of the theatre. Our team is keen to ensure the future of theatre is green.’ Through a series of workshops in August and via their website, Staging Change offers practical advice to alleviate the toll on the planet, while encouraging performers to recognise their responsibility and realise their creativity.
‘As of July 2019, we have rallied over 150 individuals and theatre companies to join our network,’ Boyd says. ‘By joining, members are recognising the urgent need for collaborative action on climate change, while committing to improve their environmental practice where possible.’ With venues also getting involved, Staging Change are challenging the wasteful practices that undermine theatre’s credibility when it discusses climate change. Individual companies have developed alternative strategies. For their show, In the Shadow of The Black Dog, theatre company All The Pigs have abandoned the flyer. ‘Not only have we printed our show on jumpers,’