Muster Station: Leith Leith Academy
The port of Leith is a place and community that has, in its time, survived war and poverty, immense tragedy and moments of prosperity, even the perils of gentrification; small wonder that its motto is the single word “Persevere”.
There is therefore an immense poignancy about a theatre event – created with Leith Academy students by Edinburgh-based sitespecific theatre stars Grid Iron, as part of the EIF’S Learning and Engagement programme – that imagines a climate-change moment when Leith will be able to persevere no longer, threatened by a mighty tsunami that will inundate lowland Scotland.
As the audience arrives, we therefore find ourselves cast in the roles of fleeing Edinburgh citizens, obeying government instructions to show up at our local muster station; and there’s something both chilling and – given recent refugee crises and immigration policies – ominously familiar about our experience, as we find ourselves herded around by bossy and unsmiling officials, divided into four groups, and led around the building to
experience various episodes in the unfolding disaster.
For those prepared to enter fully into the drama, the experience is undeniably harrowing, although not without its moments of humour; and every detail is driven along by a powerful, often menacing score by David Paul Jones, and meticulously delivered by a creative and production team of more than 100 people, including writer-director Ben Harrison, fellow-writers Nicola Mccartney, Uma Nada-rajah and Tawona Sithole, and a superb eightstrong professional cast.
In the end, Ben Harrison probably needs to take a sharp red pencil to the show’s elegiac final scene; few more words are necessary, after all we have already seen over more than two hours. As in many other festival shows tackling the climate crisis, though, the point is well and truly made; that if we try to tackle this crisis using the same systems, attitudes and structures that have led us into it, rather than by embracing a new awareness of the interdependency of all life on Earth, then our chances of surviving that big wave – or any other terminal climate catastrophe – will be slim indeed.
Samsara until tonight. Muster Station: Leith, until 26 August. All other shows, run ended.