Edinburgh Fringe: climate chaos brought closer to home in The Caravan
Unused as we are to natural disasters in this country, it's hard to believe that the residents of 2,200 households in the UK are still scraping together an existence in caravans following last summer's epic floods.
But go and see The Caravan, a new production from documentary theatre company Look Left Look Right, and you'll feel significantly less distanced from the events of 2007; the wettest summer on record. To recreate the cramped environment endured by flood victims, the performance takes place in a real 20-foot mobile 'home', where audience members jostle for space as the actors recount real-life accounts of those affected while offering you custard creams and cups of tea in styrofoam cups...
Related: Climate change at home: UK floods caught on video | MPs tell us to learn from Europe on dealing with floods
As a piece of site-specific theatre, The Caravan succeeds very well in its aim of immersing the audience in this depressing, hopeless situation of displacement and confinement, which in turn forces us to think about its causes. Interestingly, 'climate change' is mentioned as a factor by only one of the victims interviewed, with most chosing to focus on the steps that could have been taken to reign in the extreme weather conditions before they happened. Perhaps, angry at being forced out of our own homes, most of us would do the same, but there is no doubt that seeing this productions will make the rest of us more aware of how our actions could ultimately impact on our own lives or those of other people very close to us.
The Caravan is currently stationed at the Pleasance Courtyard in Edinburgh, and will stay there till 25th August.
