The threat of climate change is one we are all familiar with, and I don’t think any of us are unaware of the fate that could face our planet if we don’t make some changes to our habits.
This play shows us one possible future: a desperate couple who met at a climate change protest are now living a hand-to-mouth existence in a stark bedsit. What does the future hold for them? We get our first inkling as the woman (Maite Jáuregui) reveals to her partner (Danny Horn) that she is pregnant, after they have shared a gourmet dinner of tinned pineapple rings. We learn about the beliefs, fears and struggles of this couple through frequent flashbacks, as well as from their conversations as they discuss what to do with this unexpected revelation.
Filmed before a theatre audience and then edited for presentation, ‘We’ll Dance on the Ash of the Apocalypse’ – written and directed by Melissa-Kelly Franklin – is a bounty of entertaining and passionate dialogue, challenging some of our typical thoughts and behaviours, and asking some big questions. Does your fear that you’ll be unable to provide for your child’s future mean that you shouldn’t even try? What difference can a protest really make? What happens when you are too tired to fight, for life or for the future? There aren’t as many answers here as there are questions; though while providing plenty of laughs in this 45-minute production, Franklin also provides us with space to consider our own response and leaves us with a lingering feeling of hope.
Jáuregui and Horn are excellent guides through this rollercoaster of emotion, and their performances are enhanced by good quality lighting, choreography and movement.
It is great to see the Camden Fringe Festival sharing some digital offerings as well as a long list of in-person events, and this virtual presentation is definitely worth a watch.
You can watch ‘We’ll Dance on the Ash of the Apocalypse’ online daily at 6:00pm from 2nd to 29th August, and tickets can be purchased from https://camden.ssboxoffice.com/events/well-dance-on-the-ash-of-the-apocalypse/
There is more information about the play on twitter at @ApocalypsePlay_
Reviewer: Jo Tillotson
Reviewed: 28th July 2021
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★