In the Spring of 2018, when the world seemed a safe and happy, social place, Chickenshed Theatre, one of London's leading theatre companies enabling and actively encouraging fully inclusive programmes and opportunities for youths and children of all backgrounds and abilities, produced a unique piece of contemporary Agitprop theatre, utilising their full compliment of young members.
The idea was to create an artistic platform upon which to bring further debate and hope to the table about climate change and mankind's culpability. Using the central figure of a fictional photographer, Oscar Buhari, whose ancestry is in Africa where the people are centred and connected to the land in everything they do; and living in the north of England where he feels disconnected and disassociated with nature he narrates his own programme of playlets / scenes which are not intended to be political statements, nor do they take a scienfific stance; but instead they are snapshots of his understanding of climate change and how it will affect us in the future. "What kind of world are we bringing to our childen in the name of progress?"
The scenes themselves are totally unconnected and have no linear narrative, save that they are all built around the theme of climate change and how it is already affecting us, or, as in one vignette set in a near-future London, how it will undoubtedly affect us if we don't do something about it now.
The production features live music played by a small band at the rear of the stage, some original music / songs written especially for this show, and some well known songs with reinvented lyrics adapted for this show - (including the show's title and final song, taken from Fleetwood Mac). The choreography is excellent. Some very effective and well produced ideas and all within the company's abilities; simple but eye-catching and interesting, and executed with panache. The creative lighting generally worked very well, (although, watching the video, there were many places where the lighting was predominently dark blue with blurred outlines of the cast. I am assuming / hoping that that was a problem with the playback quality of the video and not an actual lighting effect).
All in all, this 90 minute piece of theatre was highly creative and modern. Using techniques such as physical theatre, mime, contemporary dance, pop music, etc, to subversively (and unpolitically) bring forth their mostly hopeful agenda of putting climate change at the top of the priority list, was a thought-provoking and intense piece of music theatre of which everyone involved should be immensely proud. I assume that the vast majority of those performing would have been under 18 years old, and as such it was a major and enjoyable achievement.
Reviewer - Chris Benchley
on - 24/7/20
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