Climate on TV and stage
* Next Monday sees a screening of Panorama on climate change facts and sceptics, a programme that was replaced last week by a look at BP.
* There has been a steady increase in plays and productions on a climate change theme, and two are running in London at the moment: Ditch, set in a post-climate change, underwater Britain governed by a group of fascist strongmen, and 3rd Ring Out - "The temperature is rising, the Earth is changing and your city is threatened. How will you respond?" It has been described as a cross between an emergency planning rehearsal, a video game and a multimedia 'choose your own adventure' book. Actors play the role of team leaders in command centres who guide the audience through the developing scenario - a heatwave and its consequences.
Audiences spend the course of each performance gathered in their “bunker” around a large table, armed with a computer and headphones and pressing buttons to cast their vote on different issues as they emerge. In front of them is a map of the local area, so that they can chart the impact of each decision they make on their own homes. The performers respond live to the decisions made by the audience, improvising around the storyline as it develops, in response to the way in which the audience vote. “The aim is to give each community the opportunity to take a journey into its own future and see how things might look as climate change takes effect,” says director Dr. Zoe Svendsen. “They can see how the choices they make now might impact on the way their city looks in 2033.”
More London events: http://uk.oneworld.net/events

