Rehearsing the climate future

Rehearsing the future Climate change comes to the UK in a new interactive play set in the year 2033 An ingenious new play which offers audiences a glimpse of what their own futures may hold as climate change takes effect is being performed in London. 3rd Ring Out has been described as a cross between an emergency planning rehearsal, a video game and a multimedia ‘choose your own adventure’ book. Containers are designed to resemble command centres and actors play the role of “team leaders” who guide the audience through the developing scenario. The audiences spend the course of each performance gathered in their “bunker” around a large table, armed with a computer and headphones and pressing buttons to cast their vote on different issues as they emerge. In front of them is a map of the local area, so that they can chart the impact of each decision they make on their own homes. The performers respond live to the decisions made by the audience, improvising around the storyline as it develops, in response to the way in which the audience vote. The simulation is always set in the city where the play is being performed. A run at the Pulse Festival in Ipswich, for example, dealt with the effects flooding might have on one of the lowest-lying and risk-prone parts of eastern England following a global rise in temperatures. In the Cambridge scenario, the fens had been flooded and the city had to tackle other issues that applied to locations further inland. Audiences in London will encounter a heatwave and its consequences. “The aim is to give each community the opportunity to take a journey into its own future and see how things might look as climate change takes effect,” director Dr. Zoe Svendsen said. “They can see how the choices they make now might impact on the way their city looks in 2033.” The production is the brainchild of Metis Arts, a Cambridge-based performing arts company and network with a particular interest in using innovative methods to connect with its audiences and in addressing contemporary issues through performances based on real research. The inspiration for 3rd Ring Out came from an earlier project which examined spaces in Cambridge that had been used in times of war. The team encountered a number of people who had gone through emergency planning scenarios during the Cold War to prepare them for a nuclear attack, and decided to update the same context with a climate change theme – looking at the future rather than the past. Meticulous research was carried out with the support of scientists, geographers and emergency planners to make the experience as authentic as possible. As well as showing people the effects climate change may have on the UK in a worst-case scenario, 3rd Ring Out also explores ideas about heroism, democracy, survival and how we might collectively imagine our future. After the performance, they can find out how everyone else “voted” during different performances and the consequences those choices had compared with their own, by visiting the play’s website: http://www.3rdringout.com/ * 3rd Ring Out: Rehearsing the Future Created by Metis Arts Presented by Greenwich and Docklands International Festival 24 June–4July 2010 Discover the background and make your contribution at www.3rdRingOut.com Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/3rdRingOut Find out more about Metis Arts at www.metisarts.co.uk

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