Making the piece “Under Pressure” was not about providing climate change solutions or telling people what they ought to do but it was about creating a reflective space where audiences can find their entry points and move towards action. While some may choose to compost, some switch to a menstrual cup. While some choose to be part of a climate protest, some might be influencing climate policy.
Sitting on my balcony, I am watching a 100+-year-old tree in front of me. I see this tree every morning, yet I cannot identify it by name. I can hear birds, parrots mostly, and I am looking to spot them amidst the branches of green. I want to peer in and be with them while I am tucked away behind the safety of a pigeon net, stretched edge to edge without a small margin for a bird to accidentally perch upon.
I want to be invested in nature and conservation. At the same time, I want the comfort of gated community life. Ironical, but well, at least it’s a starting point for me to engage with climate change through my own lived experience, my choices, and my priorities. In my 20 odd years of theatre-making, I was shocked to realize that I hadn’t directed a single piece on Climate Change barring a 15-minute school play on the Chipko movement [A save-the-trees movement].
This story is from the Vol. 24, No. 1, 2021, 'TIME TO WAKE UP! Save Our Environment Now.' edition of International Gallerie.
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This story is from the Vol. 24, No. 1, 2021, 'TIME TO WAKE UP! Save Our Environment Now.' edition of International Gallerie.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Perils Of Nuclear Energy
Addressing negative consequences of nuclear tests for the environment and human health in the areas around these sites, pointing the finger at the Soviet and current governments, “This is Silence” highlights one of the main points that the artist seeks to stress: the absence of public discussion about critical issues.
Greta Thunberg. It Is Time To Rebel!
Student, activist and initiater of ”The Greta Effect”
THEATRE UNDER PRESSURE.
The facts [some of it] about Climate Change are out there. With a few articles and videos, anyone can know that Climate Change is serious and needs immediate attention. Yet, we continue living our lives at the cost of the planet. With so much awareness, why are we not moving towards climate action and justice? How can our collective consciousness be pricked? Can we use the theatre to tell the story of the tree that I was looking at? Can we understand climate change from the aerial view of the parrot? Can we reflect on how much plastic waste we generate every day? With these questions, we set out to explore how theatre can talk about climate change.
WHERE TIGERS ARE HAPPY!
Initiated by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation, ‘Kids for Tigers’ is an inspiring project that educates schoolchildren about the welfare of wild animals. Spearheading this program, is Govardhan Meena, a sensitive village boy who grew up to be a saviour of tigers, of forest land and their inhabitants. Born in 1980 to a Meena tribal family living on the outskirts of Ranthambhore, Rajasthan, the unassuming young man is a virtual Pied Piper for children learning about the environment. He works 24x7 with a single-mindedness, building bridges between people and parks. No wonder, the awards and certificates in his prized possession, are more than deserving for a man whose life is dedicated to helping village children seed bonds with nature’s wilderness.
DANCE LIKE A MAN!
Dancer, choreographer and actor, Revanta Sarabhai, the third generation of a famed family of classical Indian dance, believes the arts have a way of reaching out to people in an entirely different way than scientific data or information does; that performance tends to have a greater emotional and empathetic impact on people’s senses rather than only their rational brain. Believing that the arts have a tremendous role to play in championing the cause of climate change [or any major challenge human beings face globally], he urges artists to harness the power of the arts to create change. With this conviction, Sarabhai shares with us his conceptual performance questioning climate change.
DANCE OF THE ACTION BRIGADE
When a dancer is concerned about climate change issues there is a strong potential to nudge the emotions of viewers in a way that can impact an audience sometimes more quickly than an entire thesis on the subject.
CELEBRATING THE WILDERNESS
“Humanity can no longer stand by in silence while our wildlife and nature are being used, abused, and exploited.
THEATRE SALUTES THE ENVIRONMENT
Theatres evolve to reconnect us to each other and the environment
FROM TRASH TO TREASURE
Veena Sahajwalla is a whirlwind of ideas and energy, determined to tackle the mountain of waste, especially -waste generated by Australians every year. Recycling waste into ‘green steel’ and ‘green ceramics’ is the result of years of experimentation at UNSW [University Of New South Wales, Sydney]. Director of the UNSW Sydney SMaRT Centre and a Eureka Prize winner [considered the pinnacle of scientific achievement in ustralia], Professor Sahajwalla was also awarded the PLuS Alliance prize for innovation in 2017.
BITTU SAHGALSEEKING SANCTUARY
In kinship with wildlife, with nature, with the air we breathe Bittu Sahgal shares his lifetime’s camaraderie with the environment
