FUTUROLOGY

When we think about the future
​We haven’t got a clue
​So we pull ourselves together
​And this is what we do

To an international climate change conference comes the awkward figure of the delegate from the Sandwich Islands, with a suitcase full of sandwiches and a plea for action. The conference involves, as conferences do, arguments on both sides, negotiations, liaisons after hours, announcements and agendas. But the ice caps are melting and the waters are rising. What can be done to save the Sandwich Islands?

Futurology was an co-production by Suspect Culture and the National Theatre of Scotland with the Brighton Festival. The idea was to produce a piece of theatre with a political edge and involving all of Suspect Culture’s international associates. We had a series of workshops to develop it (including one in Cove Park, two in Glasgow, and one in the Teatro della Limonaia in Sesto Fiorentina). The other idea that emerged was to use a cabaret/revue form. The show that resulted had songs, a live band, dancing, a ventriloquist act, a comedian, a tango dancer, a contortionist and a clown.

The cast was Raphaelle Boitel, David Carr, Angela de Castro, Callum Cuthbertson, Robert Melling, Robert Moss, Robert Owen, Maria Victoria Di Pace, Jon Thorne, Grant Smeaton, Sharon Smith, Morag Stark, with Warren Speed, Edd Muir & Catriona Paterson. It was directed by Graham Eatough, composed by Nick Powell, and designed by Patrick Macklin and Ian Scott. David Greig and I wrote the script.

It’s perhaps truer to say that I assisted David in writing the script. He did the main work finding the shape for the whole thing - after discussions with everyone - and I contributed bits of script that he incorporated, sometimes rejected, often rewrote to fit the piece as it was evolving in his mind. I offer two songs as examples of my contribution; I only wrote the lyrics of course - Nick Powell did a brilliant job with all the music on the show. The first is ‘Hobos and Showgirls’, an elliptical song about the rich and poor and the second ‘Whistle Bang Slap’, a novelty song of political apathy.