In 2014, playwright David Finnigan was commissioned by Canberra’s Aspen Theatre Company to create a work that addressed climate change and Australian politics. This shamelessly provocative play, Kill Climate Deniers was met with such vehement backlash from the Australian government and right-wing media that Finnigan cancelled the season.
Cut to four years later, and this work is still as relevant, engaging and confronting; completely at home on the Griffin stage. Finnigan has done a marvellous job of folding this additional story of political outrage over the work into the play which is already overtly self-aware and meta, including the incorporation of The Playwright into the characters we are introduced to.
Finnigan has also amalgamated theatre and screen terminology which, as well as strengthening the relationship the incorporated live-feed has with the performance, allows the story to unfold at a cracking pace, “Jump-cutting” between scenes as soon as the action requires.
The Griffin space is an interesting triangulation and I am always eager to see how it has been transformed to serve the work. Jonathan Hindmarsh has done a superb job of creating a world that exists now but is also indicative of a future we are on the cusp of. The minimalism with which everything has been considered renders a clean, crisp and sleek design that allows the energy of the work to come from the actors, the electric pace of the text and quick transformation of scene and setting. Lewis’ incorporation of audio-visual feed (executed by Toby Nyvett) furthers this relationship the work has with the present as we are given tabloids, blogs, articles and a running commentary of subtitles from Finnigan whilst the action continues. Hindmarsh’s set is beautifully lit by Trent Suidgeest and the unity between the two is incredibly satisfying. The LX states shift and snap between the scenes with such precision; exploring a range from ethereal dreamlike states through to florescent public toilets.
The show is fully armed with an incredible cast that Lewis makes full use of in physicality and subtle character nuance. It took me some time to realise that the character of the Playwright was, in fact, a character and Eden Falk does a brilliant job of balancing the informative narrator with a truly sincere performance. Lucia Mastrantone and Emily Havea give powerful performances as the Environmental terrorists preaching anarchy as the only way to provoke necessary change. Both actors have harnessed the satire of the text whilst maintaining an authentic and deeply moving delivery of the uncomfortable politics raised in this play.
Rebecca Massey as our Environmental Minister is hilarious from the moment we are introduced to the second she leaves the stage. Her physical and vocal embodiment of the fully satirised political archtype is electric and escalates the drama from one absurd peak to the next. The standout performance comes from her media assistant, Sheridan Harbridge whose powerhouse strength as a character actor is fully embraced in this show. Lewis’ direction sees that moments where the politics and severity of science get too ‘real’ are dispersed by the hilarity and energy of this outstanding cast. The deeper exchange is not lost though, and Lewis’ own expression that this work “…critiques the artist and the audience. It asks everyone to look at it through a different, lighter eye in order to have the conversation, not the argument,” is certainly achieved by this production.
Kill Climate Deniers – Theatre Now & On The Town
Kill Climate Deniers runs at Griffin Theatre until April 7.
