When will the climate crisis end, and how would we be able to tell? Is it the temperature, confirmation by scientists, whole countries running off renewables, or the waves washing up on the sand? Belvoir’s Scenes from the Climate Era unleashes our collective questions, worries and hopes for surviving the world’s ‘climate era’ in 80 minutes of gripping storytelling.

Playwright David Finnian presents 50 eclectic environmental mini-stories in the style of epic theatre, each of which will make you think about climate change from a different, often unique perspective. Historic events like the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Climate Agreement, present-day scientific innovation and water-cooler climate change chit chat, and depictions of potential future climate events intermingle to question, explore, despair and hope.

Finnigan’s history and expertise in both theatre and climate science is obvious from the get-go, when the cast of five sits around a dinner table having a conversation about the end of the world; the climate science and opinions being spouted are evidence based, and the relationships feel authentic and lived in. This feeling of familiarity with the cast sustains us as make our way through vignettes comprising everything from frivolous debates on the comparative evil of paper and plastic bags to heartbreaking stories of species extinction, climate disaster, death and despair.

The cast is necessarily strong across the board, comfortable performing in a minimalistic context and seamlessly switching between characters, emotions and time periods. Harriet Gordon-Anderson as a mother concerned about her child in a heatwave and Charles Wu as our MC are standouts among the five. Abbie Lee Lewis, Brandon McLelland and Ariadne Sgourgos all give memorable performances. Regular audience involvement means the play succeeds in feeling more like a stimulating conversation with a well-informed group of people, rather than the lecture a topic like this could have become.

Director Carissa Licciardello and set and lighting designer Nick Schlieper present a pared-back stage containing only a wooden table and five chairs to balance the jam-packed dialogue, switching up the pace of transitions between each scene and using targeted lighting to force focus on the story at hand.

Heavy at times, darkly funny in others, thought-provoking and compelling throughout. Scenes from the Climate Era is a play ripe for our times.

Chenin Blanc | Wine Pairing

Chenin Blanc takes a similar vein to Scenes in that it’s a varietal which brings together a slew of vastly different flavours spanning fruit, flint, lollies and clay. It’s a mishmash of flavour that leaves a delicious impression on anyone who tries it.

Scenes from the Climate Era, Belvoir Theatre | Tasting Notes

Aussie Season	27 May to 25 June, Belvoir Theatre Sydney
Ticket $	$50-93
Writer	David Finnigan
Director	Carissa Licciardello
Theatre Type & Genre	Play, epic theatre
See it if you like	Talking about climate change
Wine Pairing	Chenin Blanc
Criteria for Wine Pairing	unique flavour combinations, tectural white wine