Exploring climate change in the classroom can be a challenge, no matter your teaching context.
Scenes from the Climate Era by David Finnigan, recently published by APT, invites students to engage critically and imaginatively with climate change, to “let go of a whole lot of old ideas about how stories should be, and freefall into a new idea of reality,” as Eamon Flack (Artistic Director, Belvoir Theatre) describes.
For those who were fortunate to see the play’s premiere at Belvoir earlier this year, you would have seen and heard (and smelt and tasted) a new Australian play that engages with climate change, not just in terms of content and production elements, but also through its form.
A five-star review noted that the play is “delightfully open-ended, allowing the audience to engage and consider so many opinions, possibilities and circumstances.”
The Australian Curriculum emphasises that the Arts provide ways for students to consider issues of sustainability, stating that students should “use the exploratory and creative platform of The Arts to advocate effective action for sustainability” (ACARA, 2021).
Scenes from the Climate Era offers students a series of 66 vignettes that explore multiple perspectives and theatrical styles, with an invitation from the playwright to switch and reorder scenes according to context and needs.
To celebrate the publication of Scenes from the Climate Era, we (virtually) sat down for a Q&A with playwright David Finnigan to discuss how teachers can approach his work in the classroom. The script, published by APT, is now available on our website. Our friends at Belvoir Theatre have provided their excellent education resources, including classroom activities. We’ve also recommended several monologues (see below).
Scenes from the Climate Era is the first in APT’s forthcoming Climate Change collection (watch this space!).
– Zoe Hogan
Education Consultant
Australian Plays Transform
Scenes from the Climate Era at a glance
Cast size: 5-25, gender unspecified
A play to: Read aloud, Study, Perform, Produce
Form/style: comedy, contemporary, drama, ensemble, episodic, non-linear, one-act, political
Synopsis: A mosaic of snapshots capturing how it feels to live through this historical planetary transformation.
Recommended for: Secondary, Years 9-12
Image: Scenes from the Climate Era play cover. Photo Credit: Brett Boardman
Q&A with playwright David Finnigan
What do teachers need to keep in mind if they’d like to stage Scenes from the Climate Era?
Staging this one should be comparatively straightforward, I think. Teachers are encouraged to pick and choose their favourite scenes, and assemble them in a playlist as they see fit.
My biggest note is that having a bunch of disconnected scenes… becomes fatiguing for an audience as they constantly have to work out where they are and who’s who. […] For a school production, I’d aim to keep it well under an hour. I’m sure they’re not going to be tempted to do all the pieces, but just in case!
“A group of people talking frankly about [climate change] and acknowledging their feelings, that is truly restorative.”
One thing I’ve said to all the people producing this work… is not to worry about trying to manage the audiences’ response… everyone’s on their own journey when it comes to climate change – they’re sad, angry, nihilistic, numb, uninterested, back to being sad, and so on. [An individual’s response] has more to do with where they’re at on their own journey than the material itself.
Rather than trying to make it ‘impactful’ or encouraging audiences to take action’, my focus instead would be on trying to make the work interesting.
What are some must-read resources for teachers when they approach climate change with their students?
There’s obviously a huge amount of material out there on climate and global change, so I won’t throw a bunch of factual links at you. What I will do is just emphasise, over and over, that climate is an era and not an issue. It’s not a problem in itself, it’s the background to every other problem we face. This is a key reframing, and if there’s nothing else teachers can land in a module on climate, I’d push for it to be that.
“Teachers are encouraged to pick and choose their favourite scenes, and assemble them in a playlist as they see fit.”
Do you have any advice for teachers who are working with students who might be anxious/angry/in despair/apathetic about climate change?
For teachers trying to address student mental wellbeing through this stuff, the biggest thing I’d say is that by acknowledging and speaking frankly about it, they’re already doing a huge amount.
I think so much of the dread and fear I see people grapple with has to do with the fact that our leaders tend to act like the crisis isn’t happening, like it’s all going to be fine. The disparity between what our politicians say is happening and what we know is happening is deeply disorienting, and I think that’s where a huge amount of anxiety starts. A group of people talking frankly about it and acknowledging their feelings, that is truly restorative. If not in the moment, then in the longer term.
As educators, we know that seeing theatre can be a transformative experience for students. When students have the opportunity to see Australian stories on stage, the sense of connection and appreciation can be even more profound.
There are some incredible Australian plays being staged in 2024. The below is just a snapshot of those that may be of particular interest for students – we encourage you to connect with theatre companies in your area to check out the Australian plays are on offer.
We acknowledge that we live and create on unceded lands. We pay our respects to the First Peoples of Australia, and to their elders past, present and future.
