Freak Out! explores a community’s anxiety over climate change and the effects of increased coastal erosion by focusing on a fictional town, “Portsford”. A combination of physical theatre, clowning, and dance makes for an interesting and diverse performance. In between these elements, we see the relationships between characters develop during a fundraising party, the community’s last effort to raise the funds to save their homes by building sea defences.
The acts of comic relief were effective, with tasteful audience interaction. As an audience member, the issues felt real and urgent and leave you feeling useless, just like the communities affected by coastal erosion. The exploration of class elements, the way climate issues can divide a community, and how all individuals are affected by climate change in a unique way were carefully portrayed. The more physical elements of the performance still felt very relevant to the central theme and not too abstract. I would critique some of the characterisation, with the dialogue and interactions at times feeling slightly clunky. It’s not a performance I left feeling personally sad for the characters; however, this may have been due to the time limit the performance had to deal with, as well as the abundance of characters.
It was brilliant to see a diverse cast discussing issues that are often overlooked in today’s media and doing it in such a creative and engaging way while also reflecting the anxiety that a lot of people feel around the climate crisis. I thought the cake scene was particularly effective, with Weronika Dwornik and Ben Notice portraying the tension within communities when it comes to issues of class and the way the effects of climate change are felt more by some than others. With Alyssa Thomas’ character Kate leaving the town, the show further portrays community division and individual reaction to climate change and how difficult it is to create a unified community in the face of an uncaring government. Sophia Oriogun-Williams’ performance was particularly evocative and natural.
Freak Out! is educational, interactive, and refreshing, and with the offer of free cake, this show is worth the watch.
