Climate change ‘science’ on the London stage
This article considers climate change as a contested cultural idea, which is mediated to the public through varying forms of cultural narrative whose conventions and rhetorics impact significantly on how the ‘story’ is told. Specifically, it examines four recent British stage plays, each of which de...
Published in: | Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.173 |
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:wly:wirecc:v:3:y:2012:i:4:p:339-348 2023-05-15T16:28:19+02:00 Climate change ‘science’ on the London stage Stephen Bottoms https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.173 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.173 article ftrepec https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.173 2020-12-04T13:31:18Z This article considers climate change as a contested cultural idea, which is mediated to the public through varying forms of cultural narrative whose conventions and rhetorics impact significantly on how the ‘story’ is told. Specifically, it examines four recent British stage plays, each of which depict climate change scientists as central characters. These are Steve Waters' The Contingency Plan (Bush Theatre, 2009), Mike Bartlett's Earthquakes in London (National Theatre, 2010), Richard Bean's The Heretic (Royal Court Theatre, 2011), and the multiauthored Greenland (National Theatre, 2011). The essay argues that these plays represent an evolutionary step forward from the rather crude, apocalyptic narratives apparent in mainstream film treatments of the subject, insofar that they attempt to grapple—in various ways—with the necessary uncertainty around scientific findings and future projections. They also attempt to dramatize the ‘new cultural politics of climate change’ (Smith) by examining the relationships between, and contrasting responsibilities of, scientists, politicians, and the lay public. This article considers various critical questions arising from the plays' varying treatments of these interactions. Waters' play sees a pragmatic, technocratic role for scientific advisers in government; Bean's argues for empirical purism (and satirises the UEA Climategate ‘scandal’ of 2009); Bartlett's presents a Lovelockian scientist figure as the tortured villain in a kaleidoscopic theatrical treatment of cultural despair (following the failure of 2009's Copenhagen Summit); Greenland presents scientists old and young as ethically engaged witnesses to environmental change. WIREs Clim Change 2012 doi:10.1002/wcc.173 This article is categorized under: Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Humanities and the Creative Arts Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) Greenland Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 3 4 339 348 |
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This article considers climate change as a contested cultural idea, which is mediated to the public through varying forms of cultural narrative whose conventions and rhetorics impact significantly on how the ‘story’ is told. Specifically, it examines four recent British stage plays, each of which depict climate change scientists as central characters. These are Steve Waters' The Contingency Plan (Bush Theatre, 2009), Mike Bartlett's Earthquakes in London (National Theatre, 2010), Richard Bean's The Heretic (Royal Court Theatre, 2011), and the multiauthored Greenland (National Theatre, 2011). The essay argues that these plays represent an evolutionary step forward from the rather crude, apocalyptic narratives apparent in mainstream film treatments of the subject, insofar that they attempt to grapple—in various ways—with the necessary uncertainty around scientific findings and future projections. They also attempt to dramatize the ‘new cultural politics of climate change’ (Smith) by examining the relationships between, and contrasting responsibilities of, scientists, politicians, and the lay public. This article considers various critical questions arising from the plays' varying treatments of these interactions. Waters' play sees a pragmatic, technocratic role for scientific advisers in government; Bean's argues for empirical purism (and satirises the UEA Climategate ‘scandal’ of 2009); Bartlett's presents a Lovelockian scientist figure as the tortured villain in a kaleidoscopic theatrical treatment of cultural despair (following the failure of 2009's Copenhagen Summit); Greenland presents scientists old and young as ethically engaged witnesses to environmental change. WIREs Clim Change 2012 doi:10.1002/wcc.173 This article is categorized under: Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Humanities and the Creative Arts |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stephen Bottoms |
spellingShingle |
Stephen Bottoms Climate change ‘science’ on the London stage |
author_facet |
Stephen Bottoms |
author_sort |
Stephen Bottoms |
title |
Climate change ‘science’ on the London stage |
title_short |
Climate change ‘science’ on the London stage |
title_full |
Climate change ‘science’ on the London stage |
title_fullStr |
Climate change ‘science’ on the London stage |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate change ‘science’ on the London stage |
title_sort |
climate change ‘science’ on the london stage |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.173 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
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Greenland |
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https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.173 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.173 |
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Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change |
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3 |
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4 |
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339 |
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348 |
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1766017968291971072 |