The Gate Theatre has announced its Autumn 2025 season, headlined by the European premiere of Scenes from the Climate Era by acclaimed Australian playwright David Finnigan.
Directed by Atri Banerjee, the production will run from 23 September to 25 October 2025 at The Playground Theatre in West London.
This formally inventive and emotionally charged play explores the global climate crisis through a kaleidoscope of vignettes. Four performers traverse a world of genetically modified mice, Antarctic flood barriers, and dinner table debates, offering a raw and often humorous look at how climate change shapes our lives.
Banerjee, newly appointed Artistic Lead at the Gate, said: “Scenes from the Climate Era does what all great theatre should do – it entertains, it challenges, it informs, it moves. It’s a kaleidoscopic encounter with the most pressing existential question of our age – the climate crisis – and is by turns hilarious and devastating, experimental without being alienating. David’s writing is crammed with not just knowledge and erudition, but a ton of humour and feeling. It’s a genuinely thrilling night out at the theatre with a radically political imperative at its heart. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”
Finnigan added: “We’ve been talking about climate change for more than 50 years. For most of that time, the conversation has been stuck in a loop. Scientists, politicians, activists and climate deniers repeat the same things, while the only thing changing is the concentration of greenhouse gases. In the last few years, everything changed. Climate science, climate activism and climate denial have all transformed, while climate impacts are hitting faster and harder than anyone predicted. Everything has broken loose, and it’s dizzying. This play is my attempt to capture some of the thousands of extraordinary stories taking place on the frontline of the climate conversation right now. I’m delighted that the Gate will be bringing this show to life and can’t wait to share these stories with London audiences.”
Scenes from the Climate Era is designed by Anna Yates, with full casting to be announced.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
