Catherine Davies finds the funny at the end of the world in Stephen Carleton's cautionary tale of the climate change apocalypse.
The great barrier reef is being bleached out of existence. Siberian permafrosts are melting for the first time in millennia. Storms like Hurricane Matthew are raging with intensities never before witnessed in recorded history. The end is nigh and it's all our fault, but despite the mounting evidence for Global Warming, the endless studies into its ecological impact and the increasingly anxious pleas of environmentalists, the human race seems unable (or unwilling) to change its ways to save the planet.
Playwright Stephen Carleton takes aim at mankind's kamikaze apathy in his recent play, The Turquoise Elephant. Described as a "black, black, black political farce", this ecological cautionary tale took out the 2015 Griffin Award for new writing and is now about to receive its world premiere production. In a future Australia, now a republic, the human race attempts to muddle on as the climate catastrophe gives rise to a new species of azure elephant. But are these strange creatures real or merely imagined, a hallucinatory symptom of man's delusional rationalisations.
"The laughs come from either a frightening recognition or incredulity (oftentimes simultaneously)."
The play centres on the privileged Macquarie family, a clan of the elitiest elitists. These wantonly obtuse dilettantes of the Trump variety place their own first world comforts above civilisation's urgent need to clean up its act. Actor Catherine Davies portrays Visi, an outsider to the family whose arrival challenges the status quo. Working on The Turquoise Elephant has prompted a moment of personal reflection. "I think that in order to work on a political piece - in some ways, even more so if it's satirical - you need to know where you stand in relation to the content, and then make a pretty solid judgement on whether or not you can commit to the story you're collectively telling," she explains. "I think the most frightening realisation while working on this production is that despite the farcical nature of these characters, the minute you start to think 'is this too much?' something happens in the real world that makes you question if you've gone far enough."
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The warmed up world Carleton offers is a bleak vision of the future, but it's brought to life through the medium of comedy. Striking a balance between the satirical and the stark is a matter of letting it all hang out, Davies insists. "We completely expose each of these characters, warts and all. No one gets off the hook," she shares. "The laughs come from either a frightening recognition or incredulity (oftentimes simultaneously)." There are some advantages to playing characters who are roundly unlikeable however, as Davies describes. "It's actually really refreshing to play characters that don't hold back. No one is polite in this play. In fact, I think when you're playing characters that you don't personally agree with, you have a responsibility to expose them and to do that successfully you have to play them with unwavering commitment."
The Griffin Theatre might not be the biggest space in Sydney, but bringing such globally reaching concerns to its stage is a director with an impressive track record working on epic scales: Gale Edwards. Having such a lauded veteran theatremaker on board to realise this world premiere production is a massive asset, Davies says. "She's a genius. There, I said it," she jokes. "She has a sharp wit, an eye for detail and works with absolute rigour. Gale knows technique, style, genre, timing, rhythm and how to adapt a farce to fit a stage that has no doors. It's been a collaborative process developing both the script and the production and this intimacy has granted us the opportunity to experience something of a masterclass. It's a pretty powerful rehearsal room."
Griffin Theatre Company presents The Turquoise Elephant, 14 — 26 Oct.