The United Nations October 2024 report on climate change makes the danger plain. It says, “annual greenhouse gas emissions are at an all-time high, and urgent action must be taken to prevent catastrophic spikes in temperature and avoid the worst impact of climate change”.
Over the following days, storms in Spain killed over 200 and in the Philippines over 150.
The huge protests of Extinction Rebellion in 2019 prompted the House of Commons to declare a climate emergency, and in 2020, the government convened a Climate Assembly UK that selected a representative sample of the UK population to discuss reaching net zero emissions.
Andy Smith does not try to recreate a dramatic version of a Citizens Assembly, but instead allows the audience to participate as a range of characters in a theatre gathering to respond in three sections to the issue of climate change. The show has had positive responses in Manchester, Derby and elsewhere.
Play scripts are handed to every member of the audience. In the first section, volunteers play eight parts reflecting a spectrum from complacency including character One who argues that “theatre should be about entertainment, not some lecture on how to save the environment”, to the serious worries of character Three who points out that species are disappearing every year and that by “2060 between 200 and 300 million homes will be underwater.”
Character eight concludes that section on a note of pessimism claiming “last year, oil company profits were more than double what they were in the year before... it doesn't feel as if we are getting anywhere. It’s overwhelming!”
The second section takes us to a panel debate between climate denier character A, the complacency of character B and two others who want some change.
The direct action protester C tells A and B they have “been sold the hollow dreams of free-market individualism”. Character D recognises that protest keeps the subject on the agenda but says real change comes from debate, democracy and legislation, to which C responds by reminding D that “votes for women didn't happen by people sitting around talking and being polite.”
The final section is an open forum where the audience makes contributions. Not surprisingly, there were no climate sceptics, but someone said, “we are waking up to multiple crises which it is psychologically difficult to face, so it is easier to stick with denial.”
It was argued that “the system is controlled by the fossil fuel companies” with the “climate change issue being kicked down the road.”
The show may not resemble a real Citizens Assembly, but it is an informative and entertaining immersive experience.