Theatre review: Scenes From The Climate Era makes a serious trip to Asia
Scenes From The Climate Era
The Studios, Esplanade Theatre Studio
July 18, 8pm
World leaders argue at a table about climate treaties. A couple mulls over the carbon footprint of having a child. A woman bears witness to the final years of a species.
How can theatre capture the frantic constellation of effects that climate change has wrought on every scale? Grand and unifying narratives falter, so Australian playwright David Finnigan has fractured the view into a brisk array of vignettes that resonate across the stories without being reduced to a single perspective.
Racing through them is a reminder that the climate crisis is a complex beast to grapple with practically. It demands multilateralism yet is led by governments, it requires scientists to speak across epistemological differences, it is at once intimately human and abstractly planetary. So too does it pose a narrative challenge.
Writer Amitav Ghosh argues in The Great Derangement (2016) that fiction is ill-equipped to grapple with the scales of climate change, which also presents itself as a narrative crisis. Finnigan rises up to the problem and forsakes going deep for the wide-ranging, bringing the audience through boardrooms and bedrooms, tropical and media storms.
Debut director Ellison Tan has worked with Finnigan to localise some of the script – and the result is that its scope feels global yet distinctly Asian, with actors wielding their various Englishes inflected with Asian languages. Among the various frontlines of the climate crisis in Asia, Singapore looms large, as the script imagines Tampines at 55 degrees Celsius and a sketch of a national climate conversation.
Some of the most powerful scenes have an undertow of surrealism – one where the Chinese are working to build a sea wall to prevent a melting glacier from pushing up sea levels, for example, or the curious case of a carer for an 'endling', the last known individual of a species before it goes extinct. If not for the fact that these are actual phenomena, these scenes might have been filed under surrealism.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore
Singapore 'I thought it was an April Fool's joke': Teen addicted to Kpods on news that friend died
Asia Cool photo spots, viral food videos: Malaysia plans to woo Chinese tourists via social media
Asia From propaganda to passion: N. Korean TV show mimics K-drama to fend off banned media from the South
Singapore New auto pet wash service in Buona Vista draws flak, but firm stands by its safety
Singapore 314 suicides reported in Singapore in 2024, remains leading cause of youth deaths
Asia 'Guardian angels': Taiwan's dementia-friendly village promotes ageing in place
Life US tech firm launches probe into Coldplay 'kiss cam' couple after clip goes viral
There are less compelling segments, such as when a climatologist abruptly waxes lyrical about calling the 'climate crisis' the 'climate era'. Finnigan's characters are largely self-reflexive ones who can discourse on the nuances of climate policy and science, so they exhibit a self-consciousness that sometimes tips towards didacticism.
In part too, the effect of Tan's direction is that most of the scenes by the ensemble are played earnestly. But Finnigan's scenes sometimes appear to approach more of satire and melodrama, so an even-handedly serious approach amounts to tonal monotony over time.
For a script with thematic variety, one would expect more tonal variation too.
As a result, the diverse eight-member ensemble – consisting of Siti Hajar, Tay Kong Hui, Ali Mazrin, Vishnucharan Naidu, Lian Sutton, Gloria Tan, Claire Teo and Teo Pei Si – often feels constrained by the range of that single mode and therefore largely plays it safe.
There are some beautiful tableaus that play out on the minimalist recycled set, which consists of a large round table surrounded by chairs and benches. Sound designer Bani Haykal's soundscape is evocative of a tropical rainforest and adds sensory depth to the minimalist visual.
Made by a playwright who is deeply embedded in the world of climate science, the play knows its audience is the converted and does not attempt to persuade. Instead, taking the ground of the climate crisis as real, Finnigan stages a dilemma between the politics of hope and despair, between wonder and disenchantment.
Book It/Scenes From The Climate Era
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
K-pop girl group I-dle, Chinese singer Cai Xukun headline S'pore debut of Chinese music festival
Find out what's new on ST website and app. K-pop girl group I-dle (above) and Chinese pop idol Cai Xukun will be headlining the Bubbling & Boiling Music and Arts Festival. SINGAPORE - K-pop girl group I-dle and Chinese pop idol Cai Xukun will be headlining the upcoming Bubbling & Boiling Music and Arts Festival at Resorts World Ballroom. The festival from China is making its overseas debut in Singapore. According to the event's website and social media accounts, I-dle will be performing on Sept 13 and Cai on Sept 14. The full artiste line-up and ticket information has yet to be announced. I-dle, formerly known as (G)i-dle, consist of five members - Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua. They rebranded themselves with the name change in May, and released a special EP, We Are I-dle, that same month. They debuted in May 2018 and are famous for songs such as Latata (2018), Oh My God (2020) and Hwaa (2021). The group last performed here at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in October 2023 as part of their I Am Free-ty World Tour. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road South sinkhole removed; road remains closed for repairs Singapore Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole Life Vet Talk: Pet owners and vets need to work together to prevent infectious zoonotic diseases Singapore Benchmark barrier: Six of her homeschooled kids had to retake the PSLE Singapore For Singapore to do well, PAP govt has to continue to hold its own: SM Lee Asia S'porean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021 Singapore Mum at 15: More teens in Singapore gave birth in 2024 Business Already owning 5 properties, woman wanted elderly dad's 4 homes Minnie, 27, was in town in June for the opening of American footwear brand Skechers' revamped flagship outlet at Bugis Junction and in January for the launch of Chinese milk tea chain Chagee's second flagship store at VivoCity. Cai, 26, rose to fame in 2018 after taking part in Chinese reality show Idol Producer, in which he finished first. He then became the leader of temporary boy band Nine Percent, formed by the top nine-placed contestants of Idol Producer, before they disbanded in 2019. He is known for songs such as Lover (2020), Hug Me (2022) and Deadman (2025), and was a regular cast member of Chinese variety show Keep Running between 2020 and 2023. He previously performed in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands in July 2023 as part of his Kun 2023 World Tour.

Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
England's success at Euro 2025 is keeping tattoo artist busy
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Semi Final - England v Italy - Stade de Geneve, Lancy, Switzerland - July 22, 2025 England's Lucy Bronze and teammates pose for a picture on the pitch before the match REUTERS/Denis Balibouse BASEL, Switzerland - England defender Lucy Bronze has been in high demand at Honey Studio London since she smashed home what turned out to be the winning penalty in the Lionesses' nail-biting quarter-final shootout victory over Sweden at Euro 2025 last week. Grace Mills, a hand poke tattoo artist who works out of Honey Studio, estimates she has done a half dozen tattoos of the veteran England player in her number two shirt, pumping her fists in celebration, since that memorable night. With England set to face world champions Spain in the final on Sunday in Basel, Mills said -- win or lose -- her books are filling up for more Lionesses tattoos next week. "Football, especially women's football, really celebrates community and people's different ways of showing their style, whether it be fashion or tattoos, and celebrating community through individualism," Mills told Reuters. "And so, I think it's a really big crossover between people who love football and also love tattoos." The Australian, herself a "massive football fan", has also done tattoos in commemoration of Arsenal winning the women's Champions League earlier this year and England's victory at the 2022 Euros. "I just always loved designing tattoos that are around things people are super passionate about, and designing them in a way where people who want something a bit more simple or subtle or more feminine, and celebrate sport as well," she said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road South sinkhole removed; road remains closed for repairs Singapore Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole Life Vet Talk: Pet owners and vets need to work together to prevent infectious zoonotic diseases Singapore Benchmark barrier: Six of her homeschooled kids had to retake the PSLE Singapore For Singapore to do well, PAP govt has to continue to hold its own: SM Lee Asia S'porean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021 Singapore Mum at 15: More teens in Singapore gave birth in 2024 Business Already owning 5 properties, woman wanted elderly dad's 4 homes Mills' Euro 2025 tattoos are in collaboration with the Lionesses and creative agency This Fan Girl. An England supporter made headlines after he got an early "Euro 2024 Winners" tattoo before the men's final last year. England ended up losing to Spain. REUTERS


AsiaOne
11 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Gwyneth Paltrow stars in Astronomer ad after viral Coldplay 'kiss cam' video, Entertainment News
Gwyneth Paltrow is starring in a new ad for Astronomer. Almost two weeks after the tech company's married CEO, Andy Byron, was caught on a Coldplay concert kiss cam with his arms around his HR executive Kristin Cabot, Gwyneth has been hired as a "temporary" spokesperson for Astronomer. Gwyneth, 52 - who was married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin from 2003 until 2016 - appeared in a short video on Astronomer's social media speaking about the company's strengths. She said: "I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer. Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common one." The first question, "OMG! What the actual f***?", then appeared on the screen in writing. However, she dodged the question and said: "Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, unifying the experience of running data, ML and AI pipelines at scale. We've been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Astronomer (@astronomer_io) The next question to Astronomer was, "How is your social media team holding..." However, she moved on before the whole question could be asked, saying: "We will now be returning to what we do best, which is delivering game-changing results for our customers. Thank you for your interest in Astronomer." The video was captioned: "Thank you for your interest in Astronomer." At Coldplay's July 15 concert, a cameraman panned across the crowd and showed Byron and Cabot in an embrace. In a video shared to TikTok, as the couple frantically tried to dodge the camera, Chris, 48, could be heard saying: "Oh, look at these two. All right, c'mon, you're okay. "Oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy." [[nid:720384]] Both Byron and Cabot have since resigned from the company.