Australian playwright David Finnigan brings his critically acclaimed work Scenes from the Climate Era to London for its European premiere at The Playground Theatre. Directed by Atri Banerjee, the production offers a kaleidoscopic and emotionally charged exploration of the climate crisis through a series of fast-paced, character-driven vignettes.
Finnigan’s writing blends humour, science, and raw emotion to reflect the evolving global conversation around climate change. With a cast of four portraying a multitude of roles, the show promises a thrilling and thought-provoking night at the theatre.
Scenes from the Climate Era runs from Tuesday 23 September to Saturday 25 October 2025. Tickets are available here.
You’ve written Scenes from the Climate Era, coming to The Playground Theatre – what can you tell us about the show?
We’ve been talking about climate change since the 1970s. For most of those five decades, the conversation has been stuck in a loop. Seven years ago, around 2018, it all broke loose. In the world of science, politics, activism, denial, climate impacts—everything has escalated.
I started writing this show to try and capture some of the incredible things unfolding in all these different spaces: in policy, in activism, in science, in climate denial, on the frontline of impacts.
So that’s what this show is: a series of short snapshots, some of the most fascinating stories from the real world of the last few years.
The play presents a kaleidoscope of stories around the climate crisis – what inspired you to structure it as a series of vignettes?
‘Kaleidoscope’ is a great word. To be honest, I think imagining climate as a kaleidoscope is probably closer than thinking of it as a single narrative.
You’ve worked closely with scientists and activists – how did those collaborations shape the writing of this piece?
In my non-theatre life I work as a consultant on climate and disaster risk for NGOs and government units in places like the Philippines and Nepal. As part of that job I work with climate scientists, climate activists, policy-makers, and communities facing extreme weather impacts.
Because I wrote a play called Kill Climate Deniers, I’ve also had a lot of encounters with climate deniers of different kinds.
In this show, I’ve tried to capture some of the wild conversations I’ve heard in my work with these groups—conversations taking place in meeting rooms, on social media, over dinner tables, in bus shelters, car radios, and on dancefloors.
The show balances humour with deeply emotional themes – how do you navigate that tonal complexity in your writing?
When we think about climate art, we often imagine a very limited emotional palette: dread, fear, grief, anger, shame, awe. But climate is bigger than that set of feelings.
When I think about what’s happening to the planet, I feel all those emotions—all the classics—but also, it’s euphoric and exhilarating as well. The earth is transforming around us! And we’re alive in this moment, and we’re aware, and we can see it! We’re a part of it! We can do something about it!
What an incredible gift, to be here together, to be able to talk about it, to be able to share it.
What has it been like seeing your work brought to life by Atri Banerjee and this cast for its European premiere?
The play premiered at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney in 2023. It has since been produced in New Zealand, Singapore, and the Philippines, and it’s now making its European debut at the Gate.
In each new setting, the play has been reworked anew—scenes added, subtracted or transformed in response to the local context.
I’ve been delighted to get to rework the script this time in collaboration with Atri and the team to place it in the context of the UK in 2025. I’ve been guided by their deep knowledge and expertise, and I’m deeply grateful to all of them for the work you’re about to see.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Scenes from the Climate Era?
We just want to give you an amazing 70 minutes, hit you with some of the wildest and most extraordinary stories from the cutting edge of climate science and policy and activism, share with you stories and secrets you might not have seen before, play some great music and then be DONE—one act, no interval—and then go get a drink or a meal and talk about it.
