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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Theatre review: Scenes From The Climate Era makes a serious trip to Asia
Rehearsal shots of David Finnigan's Scenes From The Climate Era, which plays at the Esplanade Theatre Studio from Jul 18 to 20 as part of The Studios. 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
Straits Times
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
‘My appetite for despair is gigantic': Ellison Tan on directorial debut Scenes From The Climate Era
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE – Australian playwright David Finnigan's vignette-driven Scenes From The Climate Era is pitched as a dark comedy, but reading the script, Singapore actor Ellison Tan did not laugh once. The 35-year-old confesses a niche sense of humour – 'Very few things make me laugh' – but Tan, with a matter-of-factness about her, also has no qualms stating that she found some of the scenes unrelatable. She says before rehearsals at the Esplanade – Theatres On The Bay: 'I felt quite distant and couldn't relate. Some of them are geographically really far from where we are now, so I felt like I wanted it to reflect a more regional warmth.' The former co-artistic director of puppetry company The Finger Players is making her directorial debut from July 18 to 20, as part of the Esplanade's Studios season centred on the theme of Land. After receiving a phone call from an Esplanade programmer, who asked if she would take on Finnigan's work, she began a process of negotiation with the playwright to re-order scenes and insert new ones – a correspondence that astonishingly took place mostly over email. A frog scene has been retained – featured prominently on the banner art – as well as debates over the ethics of child rearing, and the impudent statement that 'No one's ever built a wall in the ocean to trap a glacier before'. Otherwise, Tan has orders to stay tight-lipped about her and Finnigan's new inventions. She reveals only that one of them is based on her experience of a focus group discussion in the United States, now re-contextualised to Singapore. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Government looking at enhancing laws around vaping to tackle issue of drug-laced vapes in Singapore Singapore Why the vape scourge in Singapore concerns everyone Singapore I lost my daughter to Kpod addiction: Father of 19-year-old shares heartbreak and lessons Singapore Organised crime groups pushing drug-laced vapes in Asia including Singapore: UN Singapore Govt will continue to support families, including growing group of seniors: PM Wong at PCF Family Day Singapore From Normal stream to Parliament: 3 Singapore politicians share their journeys Business 29 Jollibean workers get help from MOM, other agencies, over unpaid salaries Asia Why China's high-end hotels are setting up food stalls outside their doors 'I was intrigued by similarities that I found in Our Singapore Conversation,' she says, referring to the year-long exercise involving more than 600 dialogues with 50,000 Singaporeans, in which she participated as a student in 2012. The result is about 20 scenes over a run time of 70 minutes – this cap on the play's length was one of Finnigan's few stipulations. 'If we talk about this for too long a time, we are really overstaying our welcome. When you drone on about it, it feels like we are moralising – and we don't have the right to do that,' Tan says. Tan, who spoke in Malay in Teater Ekamatra's recent Artificial Intelligence play National Memory, has an ear for how one's mother tongue might break down the artifice of theatre. Though Scenes From The Climate Era is performed entirely in English, she still made it a point to incorporate elements of multilinguality in her rehearsals. A snapshot of how she runs the room – 'always communicative, open and most importantly, kind' – is instructive. 'There was one scene about banks where I got the cast to do it in different permutations, and each time, they would go at it with a new prompt. 'Say it in your mother tongue' or 'Say it as though you are teaching it to school children' to get at the heart of it,' she says. The approach stems from a strong commitment to representation, which Tan repeats several times is crucial to her practice. The multi-ethnic eight-member cast allows for portrayals of how the climate crisis affects those of different races and genders. One of the actors, Claire Teo, who is visually impaired, has also worked to ensure all contextual clues for the scene changes are embedded in the dialogue and soundscapes, part of the reason that keeping the play under 70 minutes was initially a 'tall order'. Tan says of what she has come to realise is a guiding principle: 'It's really important for me that people in the room are representative of what this country looks like, so I wanted to make that happen on my own terms.' In all this, Finnigan was a relatively detached figure, checking in only with the rare phone call when he needed more information. Tan persuaded him to do a self-introduction and answer some questions via a Zoom call, which she recorded and played for the cast while workshopping the play. Their response, among no doubt more serious takeaways: 'They said he was handsome.' Tan, who chooses her words meticulously, speaks more easily about the concerted effort the team has made to reduce waste in their staging. The entire set was repurposed and props were excavated from the Esplanade's basement 'cage', where items from previous plays are stored. She is most enthusiastic about the set's central piece – a giant table on which all eight actors will have to stand. 'It was built for the Singtel Waterfront Theatre opening and we found it on top of a cargo lift, unloved and abandoned. We had to fork lift the whole table down,' she says. 'We assigned people according to the weights of the actors to test if it would hold, and it was such a huge affair that so many staging guys came down because it was just so fun to jump on it.' But do not ask her if the play holds within it hope for those pessimistic about climate inaction. Her paradoxical logic holds clues to her stoicism. She believes herself climate conscious in her daily life and watches everything by David Attenborough. Yet she says: 'I have an appetite for despair so gigantic that it doesn't really affect me.' Book It/Scenes From The Climate Era Where: Esplanade Theatre Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive When: July 18 and 19, 8pm; July 20, 3pm Admission: From $32 Info:
Otago Daily Times
21-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Queenstown home expected to fetch $13 million
This four-bedder's nestled on a prominent headland overlooking Drift Bay. PHOTO: SUPPLIED A "knock-out" property in one of Queenstown's most desirable locations is expected to fetch $13 million. The brand-new, 435sqm home overlooking Drift Bay with 100m-plus of lake frontage, has direct access to a secluded beach. Designed by award-winning local architects Kerr Ritchie, it was built over two years by Queenstown's also-award-winning Form Construction for a Sydney property investor. It's being marketed by local New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty sales associates Matt Finnigan and Russell Reddell. Finnigan describes the property as "stunning". "I just can't think of another site in Queenstown that is pure north-facing over the lake, no road in front. "For me, that's probably the knock-out." With that location, he adds, "you get the longest out of the afternoon sun out of anywhere I can think of in Queenstown". The home has three double bedrooms plus a guest suite that sleeps up to five. Construction features include tilt slab concrete and timber frame, cedar batten ceiling and large-format Italian flooring tiles. There's also an outdoor spa and plunge pool. Finnigan calculates there's 3641sqm of native landscaping between the home and Kingston Rd. Vendor expectations, he notes, are "in the vicinity of $13 million". "We've been very active with viewings, so that's encouraging."
South China Morning Post
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Meet Eric McCormack and Janet Holden's musical son Finnigan: the 22-year-old Northeastern University student works for his college record label and has never watched Will & Grace
Will & Grace will always hold a special place in Eric McCormack's heart – but his son, Finnigan Holden McCormack, has poked fun at him for watching reruns of the show. Will & Grace star Eric McCormack, his son Finnigan, and his wife Janet Holden. Photo: @faithanne1985/Instagram 'I remember once, I think it was Thanksgiving, and he walked in and we were sitting there, and an old rerun had come up,' McCormack, 61, told Us Weekly in March. '[Finnigan] looked at us and he looked at the screen and he looked back and he said, 'Are you just going to sit and watch yourself on television all day? This is appalling!'' Advertisement His son has never seen the show his dad starred in for 11 seasons. Finnigan Holden McCormack can often be seen rocking a moustache in photos. Photo: @ Here's what we know about Finnigan Holden McCormack. Finnigan Holden McCormack has famous parents Actors Eric McCormack and Janet Holden split in 2023 after 26 years. Finnigan, 22, was born to the actors Eric McCormack and Janet Holden, on July 1, 2002. In November 2023, Holden filed for divorce from McCormack after 26 years of marriage, notes People magazine. In February 2025, the Travelers star was spotted holding hands with a woman called Sue Conder, 50, in New York City, per Hello! He's in college Finnigan Holden McCormack is currently studying at university in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: @ Finnigan is currently a senior at Northeastern University's College of Arts, Media and Design.
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'Scunthorpe could become a disaster town if the steelworks close'
Steelworks employees are still digesting the news of the launch of a consultation process that could result in the closure of two blast Steel said this week that the blast furnaces in Scunthorpe were "no longer financially sustainable" due to market conditions, tariffs and environmental closure of the Chinese-owned company could put up to 2,700 jobs at risk out of a workforce of 3, Finnigan, 30, who has worked at the steelworks for 10 years, said it had been "difficult trying to process the news" that he might lose his job. "We got an email yesterday about the consultation, but we had already seen a news notification about how this was coming into fruition before any of us had been informed," he said."It is disappointing to find out like that [and] doesn't make it any easier to digest."I could lose my job, livelihood and everything I've known for the last 10 years. I only got married six months ago and now have to think about the future. It's not ideal."Mr Finnigan said there had been rumours the company would receive investment from the government, which had given people hope, and to hear the news of the consultation came as a "massive shock". He added: "It's still difficult to digest but we will just keep going, doing our bit and seeing what happens."The BBC previously reported that British Steel was expecting a £1bn injection from the government to keep the business going, but it was offered £500m and rejected Steel chief executive Zengwei An said the launch of the consultation process was "a necessary decision given the hugely challenging circumstances the business faces". The consultation will look at the options of ending operations by early June, in September, or at a later date. Sandra Donnelly, from alterations shop Sew Easie, said the closure would affect every business and could lead to Scunthorpe becoming a "disaster town".She said: "People will be out of work – where are they going to get their jobs from?"There's just not the jobs here to jump into."The steelworks are our main way of employing people. We've got nothing left – we've lost everything."Patricia Fox, owner of Vanity Fayre hairdressers, is also said: "We are a small business [which cuts] people's hair who work there. If people won't be able to afford to come to us, everyone is going to suffer."Scunthorpe United FC chairwoman Michelle Harness described the news as "devastating".She said: "I'm sure the town will rally round the steelworkers."We have a large percentage of fans who are steelworkers and families of steelworkers, and there is a lot of history in the town."The town has to now find future jobs as it will affect so many other businesses – there will be a ripple effect from this closure."Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
