FOR much of the 2010s, popular holiday spots in the Caribbean have been blighted by huge quantities of sargassum – seaweed thought to have drifted from its usual home in the Sargasso Sea due to climate change.
It’s not just affected tourists though, putting them off lounging on the beach because of the dreadful pong: in the years when it’s been worst, populations of flying fish have dipped significantly and nesting sites of sea turtles – and the turtles themselves – have been smothered in the stuff.
Sargassum and turtles feature in Let’s Inherit the Earth, a rowdy, absurdist satire on our responses to climate change, written by award-winning playwright Morna Pearson and accompanied by an original pop-punk score from musician-composer Jonny Hardie.
A collaboration between Scottish company Dogstar and Profilteatern from Sweden, Let’s Inherit the Earth pits attempts to survive by a Swedish family and a couple from Moray against the experience of super-rich climate-change deniers, the Storskinkas and Mucklefannys.
“It’s very easy to get all depressed and down about climate change, as we found out when we were discussing it,” says Pearson, referring to Dogstar writer/actor Matthew Zajac, who stars, and Grid Iron’s Ben Harrison, who directs.
Pearson continues: “We all suddenly realised what personal burden we currently contribute to climate change. We tried to find the comedy in it and found that climate-change deniers were a wealthy source. They made me decide to take an absurdist approach. In all the discussions that we had around climate change, we found they were quite absurd in real life.”
Elgin-born Pearson, currently working on a TV comedy pilot as well as wishing to develop her film work following the presentation of her intriguing short film I Was Here at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, says Let’s Inherit the Earth was a challenge to write.
“I usually start from characters, then I find the themes come from them,” she says. “For this, the subject and the cast were already there. When I’m writing, I’ll have an idea of a character first and who would play them – usually someone who doesn’t end up getting cast.
The play, which tours Scotland extensively following a successful run at the Fringe in August, also features songs written by Pearson.
“They are more overtly political and most are ensemble pieces with a few solo songs,” she says, before laughing. “It depends on who needs to change into what costume.”
Oct 9, Carlops Village Hall; Oct 10, Websters Theatre, Glasgow; Oct 11, Newton Dee Centre, Aberdeen; Oct 12, Tullynessle and Forbes Hall, Alford; Oct 13, The Brunton, Musselburgh; Oct 16, Gairloch Community Hall; Oct 17, The Aros Centre, Portree, Isle of Skye; Oct 18, Seall at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, Isle of Skye; Oct 19, Durness Village Hall; Oct 24, Universal Hall, Findhorn; Oct 25, Birnam Arts Centre, Birnam; Oct 26, CatStrand, New Galloway; Oct 28, The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen; Oct 30 and 31, Eden Court, Inverness; Nov 1, Cumbernauld Theatre; Nov 2, Eastgate Theatre, Peebles; Nov 3, Paisley Arts Centre.
www.dogstartheatre.co.uk
www.profilteatern.se
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