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Jun302014
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill Tragicomedy
Jun 30, 2014 Climate: other The winter season at London's Royal Court Theatre this year includes a must-be-missed-at-all-costs event for climate geeks:
The season continues with Duncan Macmillan and Chris Rapley's 2071, beginning performances Nov. 5 prior to an official opening Nov. 6, for a run through Nov. 15. It is co-produced with Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, where the show will run for six performances between December 2014 and February 2015. Writer Duncan Macmillan has been talking to Chris Rapley, Professor of Climate Science at University Collete London and Chair of the London Climate Change Partnership. Working with director Katie Mitchell, a new piece of theatre has been created where the science is centerstage.
H/T Barry Woods
Reader Comments (36)
" science is centerstage"
More like pseudo-science is centrestage. I remember Andy Warhol's films - make it up as you go along! Just like Climate "Science".
Assuming Macmillan is not bringing in the science side, then who is?
Why do I sense this won't be the bundle of laughs The Heretic was at the same theatre in 2011?
Will the climate sceptic wear a black cape, a tall hat and have a big moustache for twirling as he sends the brave climate scientist to the workhouse after foreclosing on her eco friendly yurt? Or will he just tie her to the rail tracks while a soot belching coal train cuts her research grant in half?
Seriously, I feel sorry for comedy writers, all the humour is from our perspective.
It's a panto with mid-Atlantic spelling - theatre, center ?
Bring the youngsters and over-ripe fruit n veg..
Every time Global Warming is mentioned shout out "It's behind you".
I can hardly wait.
Am I permitted to say, for the first time ever, that I: "LMFAO!"?
"... a new piece of theatre has been created where the science is centerstage." but out of sight behind the curtains? Every now and then a round faced person with a goatee beard pokes his head through and says 'It's all exactly as predicted'.
I propose an alternative: 2084
Act 1: Sunburnt couple of indeterminate gender designation sit on beach, one reading a paper.
Person 1: The paper says it's been as hot as the Costa del Sol all month.
Person 2: It just used to be one or two days a year. Whatever happened to the prolonged torrential rain the Met Office forecast?
Person 1: The paper says the weather has been exactly as forecast. Anyway, just think how much of our CO2 allowance we've saved in not flying abroad for our holiday, how much we have supported the UK economy and redistributed our wealth to the local tourist industry, *and* all the solar subsidies we've earned too by not being at home.
Person 2: Anything to help with the bills. But couldn't we have kept a little bit for ourselves so we could have the lights on at night when we get back? With the weather like this the windmills never turn!
[Child runs across stage pursued by heavily armed Green Police. Explosion off stage. Green Police return]
Both say to Green Police: One less sceptic!
[Green Police leave]
Person 2 says quietly: Is it me or has the chocolate ration gone down again.
Person 1: [Looks at paper earnestly] But it says here the chocolate ration has been increased to 20 grammes a week...
Starring Bob Ward, Michael Mann and Gavin Schmidt, who form a trio to sing the cue ball opera, with Bryony Worthington battling Julia Slingo for the love of their men. Lord Monckton plays the lovable and misunderstood phantom of the opera house, who the female leads both comes to admire, and then to love, which causes their jealous men of science to plot heinous murder. Lewandowsky plays the apothecary, James Delingpole plays the constable detective, and Matt Ridley as God the narrator.
I can't tell you any more about it, because I don't want to spoil the ending.
The newspaper reviews will just say 'it's worse than we though!'
Does this mean that one should bring tomatoes? One could simulate global warming by leaving them outside on a dark surface for a sufficient amount of time ...
"2071"
Right. Because in 2014, nothing happens.
Beam me up, Scotty.
Andrew
"University Collete"
A very obliging girl, I hear.. :-)
'Collette' scripted the novella 'Gigi' and picked the then unknown Audrey Hepburn to take the lead role in the play.
Not sure Rapley's play will have quite the same appeal.
Gigi - Leslie Caron
Leslie Caron in the film 7 years later
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigi
(In a similar vein, I have noted that, in new American
literaturebooks, burglars “burglarise”, they no longer burgle; similarly, I suppose, teachers will “teacherise” and swimmers “swimmerise”. Will the madness never end?)Jun 30, 2014 at 3:09 PM | WJohn
Every time Global Warming is mentioned shout out "It's behind you".
Brilliant!
The title/headline from the link given by the Bish is actually:
Well there you go.
Will this be the first Noh drama ever performed in London?
"a new piece of theatre has been created where the science is centerstage."
It's not new and it's not about science!!!
It's the same old story in a new wrapping, mostly policy based claims and promoting an ide(ology)?
Promoting a political Agenda is what it's all about?
Has anyone linked to this?
http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/2071
Apparently the new Royal Court season is all about "revolution & resistance" …..oh…. and you're paying, of course, via your old friends at the Arts Council.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revolutionary-spirit-behind-royal-courts-new-season-9568086.html
(Don't let anyone tell you climate change is political though).
A public subscription should be started (I believe London prices are steep for new shows) to find and fund a volunteer with a stout character and a strong stomach to attend and report back. Theatre can provide insights into what motivates people into doing strange things, such as claiming to be grievously alarmed about a gas which has never driven climate in the past and shows no sign of doing so now.
Isn't it odd how a middle-aged scientist, who's spent his whole life suckling at the public teat and waiting for his inflation-proofed pension - can see holding the same opinion as "97%" of his peers as being an act of daring revolution?
John Shade: +1
Foxgoose: +97%!
This boggles the mind!
We will see stagecraft being used to present real life "stagecrafted" science. We will see actors pretending to be scientists -- scientists who, in real life, are also actors pretending to be scientists.
Art has reality! And here the subject matter of the Art has no reality! The world the actors create is real -- but the world the climate scientists create is not real.
What to call this new type of Art -- Unrealism????
Eugene WR Gallun
Post-post-modern?
The Royal Court link from foxgoose is interesting. The Hansen-esque grandchildren rhetoric is there, and "What’s needed is a conversation". The director was also responsible for "ten billion". And it's followed by a "Day of Action" on how to fight climate change.
They say the Secret of Showbiz is timing.
Six performances at the Royal Court through Winter November 2014 to December January Febuary 2015 the topical subject being Climate Change and Global Warming
Hope the shows don,t get cancelled due to snow.
And it coincides with Panto Season in the West End
"In a similar vein, I have noted that, in new American literature books, burglars “burglarise”, they no longer burgle; similarly, I suppose, teachers will “teacherise” and swimmers “swimmerise”. Will the madness never end?" --Radical Rodent
You just need a little reorientationization.
I remember a very good (unrelated) sciency comedy at the Edinburgh festival that contained the telling line that discovering a straight line graph of two variables is a scientists wet dream.
In the history of the theatre, this play will not be unforgotten, nor shall I fail to abstain from seeing all six performances. Or maybe only the one.
Does anyone know if/to what extent this production was subsidised? Were there script development grants and the like? Is it expected to pay its way at the box office?