Read on for a syndicated interview with director Gavin Joseph and playwright Nicole Latchana about a practical guide on how to save the world when no one f***ing else is, coming to Tara Theatre later this month.
Where: Tara Theatre, Earlsfield
When: 15-19 April, presented by Tara Youth Company
Booking link: https://taratheatre.com/whats-on/
What was the inspiration for ‘a practical guide…’?
Gavin: Last year, Tara gave us the provocation of how the climate emergency is disproportionately affecting those from the global south. This was our specific jumping off point from which a thousand more questions and conversations arose, leading to things like eco-terrorism, what a global majority climate activist group would be like, climate colonialism and also whether art is an effective form to catalyse policy change. It was also around this time when the whole Luigi Mangione case was in the news and provided us with the ethical dilemma of whether the ends justify the means and also incited an interesting conversation around hope v apathy. Along with our fiercely talented and intelligent company, Nicole and I felt completely nourished with this wealth of material and thus started ‘a practical guide…’ –
Nicole : I knew the project was going to be exploring climate change, a topic I’ve been writing about for years, I was looking forward to dramatising it in new ways, but when Gavin suggested that the title could be a practical guide on how … it felt so right that I agreed to it there and then, something I rarely do for my own scripts that have been through several drafts, let alone a play I’d not even got the premise for yet. It was such a strong title, that it felt so exciting to bounce off of and bring into the room.
Once we had the basic set up locked down, the inspiration came from the characters that the young people brought into the room in response to devising exercises, they were so rich and complex that the play felt very natural to write.
Why is it important to highlight the impact of climate change on the Global South?
Gavin: As a South Asian led organisation with a deep history of serving our communities , we are acutely aware of how certain issues can be monopolised by western thought and relayed through a western lens. This kind of orientalising is often harmful in that it fails to take into consideration the voices of the people who are at most risk, instead centreing the people who stand behind a gate of privilege. As a theatre company whose whole ethos is rooted in politically charged work, we want to ensure that we address where the direct impact of climate change is occurring and the diaspora of global south people who are also affected by default.
Nicole: Because the Global South have contributed the least to the warming of the planet yet they are being affected worst by it. The LA wildfires were all over the news, but we don’t hear about climate disasters in the Global South.
How does it feel to work alongside the Young Company at Tara Theatre?
Gavin: Mesmerising. When we picked the final cohort, we were extremely excited about the abundance of talent we had and that feeling has only compounded since the beginning. As is the case in most devising processes, conversation and questioning are integral toward the making of a piece and with our young company we have not been short of that. They are all deeply passionate about politics and arts and the interesting intersection at which both those things collide – it’s been a joy seeing how they’ve approached the work and most importantly how they’ve practiced kindness and empathy in the space, it’s the thing I am most grateful for about them.
Nicole: It is an absolute joy to work with the Tara Theatre Young Company. There has been an abundance of trust, honesty, curiosity, generosity and care in the room that has allowed the process to be messy and adaptive. We’ve been able to experiment with new ideas and questions week by week.
What do you hope audiences will take away from the work?
Gavin: It’s in the title. I think the piece wants to inspire direct action however small. The climate emergency feels like such an abstract and existential thing for a lot of people, it can feel alienating, unrepresentative, and remote. For the company and the rest of the team, our aim is to make it feel the opposite, accessible, representative, and in your face.
Nicole: I want people to feel powerful. We have agency. We all have agency to make a difference. We have power in our decisions as consumers.
Image credit: Mathushaa Sagthidas