Water at Tricycle Theatre

Water at Tricycle Theatre

09 February, 2011
by: Naima Khan

A human look at the challenges of climate change.

Don't expect Water by Filter Theatre to stir you into environmental activism. But do expect it to highlight the very human reasons we're failing so badly to protect our planet. Currently at Tricycle Theatre, the show doesn't shine yet another light on the greed and mass consumption that wreck natural resources but refreshingly looks at human vulnerabilities and gets its audience to consider the strength required to make a difference.

Climate change seems to be the topic of the moment in London theatre. The multi-authored, severely lacking Greenland playing at National Theatre and The Heretic opens this week at Royal Court, while Change at Arcola Theatre runs from 22nd February. But Water has been performed since 2007 and the time given to this show is evident in its streamlined structure, though it could do with more tightening. The last scene featuring fish-shaped balloons is a bum note to end on but what precedes it is engaging and quite remarkable.

Rather than creating a play about climate change, they've created a play about the people for whom the environment is important. And it's the human element that stands out. The play begins with a simple lecture by Professor Johnson, a marine biologist concerned with the rising temperatures of the oceans. After Johnson's death his two very different sons (Oliver Dimsdale and Ferdy Roberts) try to piece together the discordant images they have of their father. Meanwhile, running parallel is the story of Claudia Ford (Victoria Moseley), a diplomat determined to create a legally binding environmental agreement between the world's most powerful countries.

Filter Theatre are known for their transparency, and, true to form, the impressive soundscape for Water is laid bare on stage. The cast use microphones for voiceovers and create the inescapable, eerie sound of drops of water like a ticking time bomb. It's not trying to be a Yes We Can campaign nor is it trying to be slick. But there are some theatrically memorable moments here; like the silhouetted squash game between professor Johnson and his colleague, which is completely absorbing and a tad nostalgic.

Water cleverly looks at the idea that our social isolation increases the strain on our environment. Claudia is afraid to connect in her personal life while she comes head to head with the isolationist strategies of deciding nations. Her cave diver boyfriend shows us to how little we know about the things undiscovered beneath the surface of the earth, as he pushes himself to dive deeper and deeper in the name of furthering human access to the planet. The challenges he poses himself are the most frightening.

Though it's not perfect, this imaginative, unpretentious production helps put us as individuals at the centre of a global mess of confused priorities.

Water runs at Tricycle Theatre until 5th March

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Naima Khan