• Advertise
  • Request Review
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy
  • Login

Theatre Bubble

The UK Theatre Network

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Opinions
  • Interviews
  • Guides
  • Ed Fringe

2071- Royal Court

November 7, 2014 by Verity Healey Leave a Comment

Review of: 2071
Price:
£32, £22, £16, £12 (Mondays all seats £10)

Reviewed by: Verity Healey
Rating:
5
On November 7, 2014
Last modified:November 7, 2014

Summary:

Compelling, invigorating, factual and inspiring

More Details

Lots of questions are coming out from reading the numerous reviews of 2071 and it’s a huge shame that some critics are letting their disappointment about seeing a show they feel is boring mar and even obfuscate the importance and meaning of 2071’s very serious climate message.

2

Firstly, if folks had taken on board that we were going to have a supposedly ‘anti- theatrical’ event that would be purposely devoid of all the Hollywood dramatics that accompany climate change films for example [if you want hyperbole devoid of human responsibility and accountability but full of drama and psychology get thee to the cinema to see Interstellar, your narrative instincts will be satisfied] then they would have come fully prepared and ‘open’ to whatever was going to be presented before them and with no room to complain that they had to sit through something being labeled as ‘boring’ and with a scientist who someone else has insultingly labeled as ‘boring’ also.

Secondly there is nothing wrong with something being anti theatrical, although I debate whether this is really so [surely the drama of the content is enough]. But well done the Royal Court for taking the risk. But I will admit, having read around the show, as I am sure many of the professional critics would also have done, I was excited to be going to something that was purposefully an attempt to be non theatrical, and through its lack of theatrical space, character, psychological and psychoanalytic nature has actually benefitted by being able to make more of a link between the iconic connection between an empty stage and the empty mind- for me this only actually enhances the theatricality of the work and saves its important messages from drowning in a wallowing of ignoble emotions and dramatic human problems. And 2071 gives us merely another subjective theatrical form, it does not lessen it.

But form is really beside the point. The point is, that if you come with an open mind, are prepared to listen and engage then not only are you going to be inspired, you are also going to be motivated- as I was- to change.

But down to the science and the ‘show’. Professor Chris Rapley, a highly humble and dignified scientist for someone so clearly and vastly intelligent, sits down to give us a 75 minute account of the world’s climatic changes, taken from 1,000s of transcripts and co written with dramatist Duncan Macmillan, complete with visuals from Chloe Lamford,  and takes us from the earth’s early beginnings and through to a climate forecast for 2071. Laying down hard indisputable facts he makes it clear it is us, not the heating up of the sun, that’s responsible for the high levels of carbon dioxide that we are now breathing in unprecedented and previously unheard of amounts and that, if substantial efforts aren’t made now to readdress the balance of the carbon cycle in our atmosphere, then glaciers will continue to melt, sea levels rise, droughts and floods will be more frequent and we may be looking at a world that will slowly become uninhabitable as soon as 2071. Couple this with the growing global economy, wars [the amount of money spent on war] and a booming growth in population and one realizes we – the human race- are facing severe survival problems caused only by ourselves. But Chris Rapley is oddly optimistic. He points out that somewhere in the region of 169 countries are prepared to work together on climate change- the same nations whose governments are openly hostile towards each other- proposing the obvious idea that climate change can actually be a move towards global diplomacy and perhaps peace. And comments that countries like India and China, as we know not known for their good human rights records, are investing heavily in wind farms, a move we all realize the UK is lagging far behind in- Rapley’s silence on our own government’s reluctance speaks volumes. One also might worry how Obama’s own climate policy may be endangered since the recent mid term elections.

So what can we do? Global temperatures must level out and not increase beyond another 2°C in order to avert disaster. There is plenty that can be done- invest in solar power and wind farms, look at how we travel and clothe ourselves. As 2071’s director Katie Mitchell has done, be the change you want to see. And even, as 2071 dares to suggest- look at how we consume and make art- Chris Rapley points out that even this show and with everyone attending, will contribute carbon molecules that will stay in our atmosphere for at least a hundred years before it dissipates. Is this acceptable? This is a somber warning- and poses the idea that from now on the stage cannot just be a stage that asks for change, it must also be that change it proposes.

2071 is so important it shouldn’t just stay in the theatre but should tour schools and wherever it can. It needs to preach to the unconverted as much at to the converted. It should be something people choose to go and see as readily as they might Interstellar. It doesn’t need drama or amazing acting or psychological depth- its subject is intense and dramatic enough.

Compelling, invigorating, factual and inspiring, 2071 runs at the Royal Court until 15th November, book tickets here

for a more indepth review go here

more information on climate change and the play go here

Verity Healey

Author: Verity Healey

I write about theatre, I write short stories/ poetry www.verityhealey.blogspot.com, I also sometimes make films.

Filed Under: Review Tagged With: 2071, Chloe Lamford, Chris Rapley, Duncan Macmillan, Katie Mitchell, royal court

Join the discussion Cancel reply

NEWS / Living Record Festival of digital arts announces programme

Living Record Festival is a month-long Digital Arts Festival curating and presenting over 40 original pieces from a range of [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Open Bar on A ChristMESS CAROL

Tell us about Open Bar Theatre and also how you came about and how the name came about. OBT: Open Bar [Read More]

NEWS / Ayomide Adegun awarded The Luke Westlake Scholarship 2020

22 year old South Londoner Ayomide Adegun is currently in his 2nd year of the BA Acting course at Royal [Read More]

NEWS / Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels announced

A new play repurposed for online viewing from the creative team behind Scrounger, and the first of the Finborough Theatre’s [Read More]

NEWS / Crimes Against Christmas becomes an audio advent calendar

Typically at this time of year theatre company New Old Friends would have just finished an Autumn tour and be [Read More]

Top Posts & Pages

  • 10 Tips to Help You Prepare for Your Reality TV Auditions
  • Writing the Perfect Press Release
  • 5 Stage Elements to Consider for a Rousing Theatrical Production
  • Katy Owen: Auditioning for Oxford School of Drama
  • Katy Owen: LAMDA Audition (First Round)
  • Boudica at Shakespeare's Globe
  • A Streetcar Named Desire- A cry of pain- Young Vic
  • Forced Entertainment announce new award in memory of Huw Chadbourn
  • Katy Owen: How to Apply to Drama Schools*
  • How to Applying for Arts Grants and Funding
  • Verity Healey

    Verity Healey
    Author

  • November 7th, 2014
  • comment iconNo Comments
  • FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail

    Newsletter

    Enjoyed what you've read? Get even more great content directly to your inbox - Completely Free

    About Theatre Bubble

    Theatre Bubble is the news, review and blogging site created by Blue Pie Media and run by a dedicated team of outstanding editors and writers: we're always looking for new contributors - to find out more click here.

    Contact Us

    News: news@theatrebubble.com
    Reviews: reviews@theatrebubble.com
    Website: webmaster@theatrebubble.com

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2021 · Blue Pie Media

    Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

    Email sent!