Melting pot of chaos, coherence

Theatre What: Earthquakes In London Where & When: The Basement, until November 25 Reviewer: Paul Simei-Barton

The ability of theatre to engage with the pressing issues of the day is impressively realised as Earthquakes In London delivers a vast, multistranded epic on global warming.

Acclaimed British playwright Mike Bartlett avoids the preachiness of overtly political theatre by focusing on the domestic dramas consuming a dysfunctional family. The three adult daughters of a famous climate scientist each respond in different ways to their father’s warnings of impending global devastation and his cold-hearted neglect of his parenting responsibilities.

The story is given a wildly chaotic structure as it swings across different time periods and intense personal encounters are interspersed with surreal intrusions of song and dance.

But director Katy Maudlin bring a strong sense of coherence to the fractured narrative and the threehour-plus running time of the original has been skilfully trimmed to an energetically paced 130 minutes including interval.

The play offers meaty roles for the students of The Actors’ Program and the 16 member cast rise to the challenge with energetic and heartfelt performances.

As the play moves to its conclusion, we are given alternative visions of the future with an apocalyptic catastrophe set against an image of a messianic leader opening the way to sustainable future.