Theatre and the Climate Crisis

Can creativity solve a crisis? Is theatre an untapped tool with the power to educate and mobilise the masses? Can we use the arts to create positive change in the face of the sixth biggest mass extinction? I believe so. The arts are a form of communication that can break down big conversations and equally provide a place to escape and an outlet for grief and anxiety surrounding climate catastrophe. 

Alongside my passion for climate activism and volunteering with organisations such as Teach the Future, like my colleagues at TtF, I spend most of my time focussing on my studies in full time education. For me, that is studying a degree at drama school. I know, most people are shocked when they find out I’m not studying an Environmental Science degree at some big shot academic university! Nah! Instead, I am studying a degree called Theatre and Social Change at Drama School in London. I’ve always looked to the arts for joy, an escape, a form of expression and answers, a lot of the time relating to my passion for climate justice. Theatre, the arts and social change are inherently interlinked. 

For example, we commonly see theatre and the arts used today as a form of protest against climate inaction. From Bristol based, ‘Invisible Circus’ using the Red Brigade on streets across the world to COP Collalitions Landing Hub at COP26, giving a platform to theatre makers using humour to highlight politicians' stupidity towards climate breakdown and create community through art therapy workshops, panels and discussions. However, if these don’t scream theatre to you, look to Complicite’s recent collaboration with actor and activist Fehinti Balogun, touring a piece called ‘Can I Live?’ to theatres across the country digitally in 2021 or April De Angelis’ one woman show ‘Extinct’ at Stratford East last summer. Both productions use a traditional theatre set up to educate, mobilise and open up a conversation with the audience around the urgency of the climate crisis. They don’t shove the IPCC report at you or judge you for not knowing your celsius from your fahrenheit! Instead, they make climate justice accessible, expressing the emotions surrounding climate change and telling the stories that we never hear. Real life, true stories with real people, giving the mic to those that are being affected by the climate crisis today. 

Although biassed, I believe the arts have an integral role to play in the climate conversation. As written in Teach the Futures asks, climate education needs to be a part of key content in all subject areas and this includes the arts. Let’s face it, we’re not all scientists and not every student will engage in sciences but instead look for a more creative way to learn and communicate. Although Rishi Sunak likes to threaten to cut arts education, there’s no denying that if you disregard the arts, you disregard so many students' potential and dismiss the fact that creativity has a big mark on how we move forward with the climate crisis. 

If you agree, please keep in touch! Teach the Future would love your support. Find out ways you can help us in achieving adequate climate education across the UK curriculum on our website here. 

Passionate about using the arts to combat the climate crisis? Don’t be a stranger! Reach out to me on natasha@teachthefuture.uk - I’d love to chat!

Want to read more about the arts and social change? You can also check out Scarlett, a fellow Teach the Future volunteer's recent collaboration with Shado Mag, where she interviews the cast of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time all about their thoughts on theatre, accessibility and its relationship with activism.