Third Eye: March 2023 Edition

Edition 1: ECO THEATRE AND TURQUOISE ELEPHANTS

In this issue: evolving ecology

heard it through the cherry orchard turn up the heat and more

COMING THIS

By Stephen Carleton

EDITOR'S NOTE

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Welcome to Third Eye! Thank you for taking the time to browse this humble new magazine devoted to theatre, arts criticism, and a few extra things that we decide on Stay awhile, see what you like, read up on the interesting ideas we've been exploring, and let us know your thoughts via our website Third Eye serves as a companion to Observatory Theatre's yearly program, and in this edition, we are uncovering The Turquoise Elephant, a riotous black comedy that fiercely shames climate change denial and, crucially, delays in acting on climate issues. How sobering that only one month ago, the world saw the worst environmental disaster in years - the Ohio Train Derailment - where tons of hazardous chemicals were released into the air, soil and water. This is a terrible story that made me see red and I cannot recommend reading up on it enough. I would in fact argue that it is imperative as a permanent lodger on this space rock we call Earth. So as you read this, ecological events are taking place that are shaping the world Of course, theatre can only do so much to ignite debate and initiative Like the main character in The Turquoise Elephant, who wants so desperately to help the chaos around them, we must act I hope this edition spurs you to do so

EVOLVING ECOLOGY

‘Environment’ has meant many things in the theatre.

Back in the day, it was the literal place theatre unfolded. The stage, the blank canvas, the parameters in which imaginary spaces were imagined, experiments were experimented, and plays were played. Come the 1960s, ‘environmental theatre’ meant scrapping the audience-actor distinction. Picture an Off-Off Broadway production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth with audience participation, unconventional sets, and a Frankenstein-ed version of the original play. It even includes the exchange of a ‘C’ for a ‘K’ to make 'Makbeth'. You know, your typical avant garde stuff. Successors took this stage vs. reality blurring to derelict metro neighborhoods and any nontraditional spaces they could find - like car parks or cinemas. This is what we now call site-based theatre. You know, Anywhere Theatre Festival.

This festival, beloved by emerging artists, is increasingly featuring ‘immersive’ works, the next stage of our ‘environment’ evolution. Meanjin’s very own IMRSE Theatre Company exemplifies this boundless new way of ‘doing’ theatre. Think the audience becoming a character themselves, or involving them in the story line or, brace yourself, standing room only. No passive seating allowed. In immersive works, the idea of ‘environment’ expands far beyond the four walls of an auditorium. Our understanding of what theatre is, and what it can be, is being challenged.

Now, as we know, our climate isn’t exactly looking all that crash-hot. Well, actually, I guess it is. Too hot, in fact. And on the brink of crashing. As a result, ‘environmental theatre’ now tends to refer to productions that are both logistically and theatrically climate-conscious. We can also call this ‘EcoTheatre’ since, well, it rolls off the tongue better. Eaton Gorge Theatre Company, located in the Illawarra on Dharawal and Wodi Wodi Country, embodies these eco-considerations in their work. They’ve staged 40 productions centered on themes of sustainability, water conservation, waste reduction, and even conscious-eating styles to protect the natural environment, to name a few. Less Weight Watchers™, more Leonardo DiCaprio in THAT scene in The Revenant. That could be too extreme. Nonetheless, being more resourceful and eating friendlier foods to avoid unnecessary waste and by-products is something to consider.

‘Environment’s progression from merely referring to the performance venue itself, to exploring the sweeping context in which theatre operates overall, epitomises theatre-maker’s continuing fixation on the concept of ‘space’ and growing societal concern with the state of our climate. Besides, if theatre has the power to create change, perhaps it not only begins with the story or the message it aims to say. It should also begin with the space

U R N U P T H E H E A T

There are few writers who can convincingly tell stories about people who flirt with chairs and the chair flirts back. Yes. A chair. Or where people perform incredible feats of mental gymnastics by eating an endangered Musk Ox…in order to save it. “Curry it. Twelve hours,” is Aunt Olympia’s recommendation.

But Stephen Carleton himself is no fool. One of Australia’s most celebrated playwrights, his best known work includes the scorching confessional drama Bastard Territory and the colonialist Constance Drinkwater and the Final Days of Somerset. In The Turquoise Elephant however, Stephen reveals an Australia plagued by scorching heat weaves, Extinction Rebellion style terrorists spreading mayhem, and animals previously extinct now rising from the changing Earth, or as Olympia phrases it, “A planet arching and kicking in turmoil - grasping to survive. There’s tragic beauty in that”.

Q: WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE ALREADY ACHIEVED NET ZERO EMISSIONS?

And if it wasn’t for her Ox-eating tendencies, we would likely agree with her. How ironic to see beauty in our world only when it’s burning to a crisp. Irony permeates through the whole play and leaves us wondering just how blind we really are, indoctrinated and desensitized to our environment. That’s the power of this play: It makes us rethink how we solve the crises upon us. Olympia declares this is “an operatic age”, so what if she’s right? Who can say what the best way forward is? And who knows if we will ever hitch up our pants and work to get there?

The truth is that the safest path through the woods is murky. Sure, we can protest. Sure, we can use the holy power of social media to get our frustrations out. And sure, we could take shorter showers. The Turquoise Elephant suggests a different way: Those in a position to find the fork in the road are the ones the world needs right now. Big business and government alike will feel the heat. Whether they listen or care will only prolong the burn.

There’s a reason Stephen’s play the Top 100 Plays to Save The Books). It pits shockingly black boiling criticism that makes us Surely these insane characters close to people we meet on the still, are like ourselves. Even whe the right place, middle finger p position to fire that post across perhaps we’re better off tucking Curry

SUSTAINABLE. AND PROUD OF IT.

I was a proud School Strike 4 Climate kid. A diligent recycler and master composter. I took so much pride in caring for my beautiful hometown on Yugumbeh land. So when I began working in theatre, I was shocked at the lack of environmental consciousness across numerous areas of our practices, particularly in the use of unsustainable materials. That sparkly silver curtain might have looked amazing on stage, but offstage it’s still rotting in a landfill. Until I discovered the rumblings of a growing movement: Ecotheatre.

For me, eco-theatre is about taking creative, social and cultural aspects of design to make environmentally sensitive productions. The movement strives to support cyclical and sustainable trends within design, meaning that every piece of technical equipment, set, props and costume has a home to be returned to or thoughtfully recycled after curtain call. Drawing from these principles and my own stand on climate change, I began my quest to implement the role of an environmental manager in independent theatre production. Little did I know of the trials and tribulations that were coming my way.

q: which is David Attenborough's least favourite animal?

I first worked as an environmental manager for Matt Cameron’s Ruby Moon, an incredibly imaginative project, but very prop, costume and set heavy. It was a challenge as we didn’t have a massive budget, which meant I had to adapt my plan as the show went on. I discovered that trying to source everything using only sustainable materials and achieve the director’s vision during the six-week rehearsal period was going to be impossible. My eco-brain went into overdrive when the directors presented me with a concept for the final scene in which all eight characters wore the same Lowes sweater vest. And so, I shifted my focus to a cyclical community return process, meaning that even if I was to purchase something ‘unsustainable’, the purchase was justified as long as it went to a home after the show. Our beautiful set went back to the home of the designer, who was going to repurpose it in his set workshop. The knitwear we used went to homeless shelters. Everything borrowed was returned and everything else found a home or was sent to textile recycling. Practices such as these are bringing actions to the mainstream that have been at the heart of sub-cultural theatre movements for decades.

Since then, I’ve worked on two other productions and a festival undertaking environmental management. I’m yet to get it right, but I’ve learned the worst thing you can be is ignorant. Keep an open mind to changing your practices for the better. In the words of the Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not”.

Keep an eye on the National Theatre in London for more environmentally friendly methods. They’ve been doing sustainable practices for over a year with great success, such as their recent production of Kae Tempest’s Paradise, where they made an expansive, in-the-round set with recycled wood. Now that’s theatre with a conscience. Plus, keep your ear to the ground about Observatory Theatre’s production of The Turquoise Elephant coming in June

Wheels were set in motion when Euripides wrote, “Follow, and I shall go as your escort and protector, though another shall bring you back”. The words of earth god Dionysus echo through the ages, warning us of nature’s double-edged sword. Plays are chunks of time. Historical artefacts if you will. From a literary perspective, they document the thinking of the period. This is especially true with Shakespeare, one of the most famous thinkers. So what wisdom do classic plays whisper to us from the gilded halls of long ago, and what especially do they tell us about our current environment crises?

Arthur Miller had a different view. In The Crucible, Abigail and her friends were not just dancing in the woods of course. They were emancipating themselves from a rigid society, revelling in their innocence, hidden by the hanging harbour of branches around them. What they discovered was wild and unadulterated freedom, a place to be themselves. But it is also a place of looming judgement. Salem is left a hollow and lifeless town at the end of the play. So continues the march towards structure, governance and crushing conformity. There is no dancing for quite some time. H e a r d I t T h r o u g h t h e C h e r r y O r c h a

If we indulge Shakespeare a while longer, we find ecocriticism in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The fairies proclaim that ‘the seasons alter’ and ‘a progeny of evils’ sprouts from their actions, a sobering analogy for today’s climate awareness. Skip ahead a few decades to As You Like It when Rosalind enters the Forest of Arden and later emerges married to her loved one and reunited with family. Shakespeare portrays forests as places of change, of redemption and great happiness. At the time of writing however, England was suffering from crop failures due to harsh temperatures caused by the cooling period between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. For him, the environment was always on the tip of his quill.

Mrs Ranevskaya’s nostalgia is not enough to save her family’s estate from the raging combine of capitalism. Who knew things that were supposed to be forever are not immune to time after all? Industry and progress in The Cherry Orchard hasn’t any regard whatsoever for those foolish enough to get in the way. “We have so much,” Chekov writes, “We have these huge forests. We have boundless open fields. We can see the deepest, furthest horizons. Look around you. We should be giants”. Through an eco-critical lens, there are lessons to be learnt from the eventual chopping down of the orchard to make room for holiday homes: One is that the dollar will always trump everything else. Another is that we may not realise the seeds of destruction have been sown until it is too late. Another is that we must cut ties with attitudes or practices that no longer serve us, or be stuck forever making old mistakes.

Returning home, the southern lands are going through their own problems. Amid issues of exploitation of the land, The Torrents places us in a particular turning point for the dusty town of Koolgalla, the choice between continuing the fast dying gold rush or nurturing the soil to grow produce. In Australia’s true blue stubborn style, Oriel Gray’s 70 year old play shows us that vested interests stick long and hard, but there is hope in the next generations. The underdog Kingsley, who persists despite ridicule, was well ahead of his time in crying out, “The future lies not in gold, but in fruit trees. Cultivate the land, don’t mine it”.

So must we all cultivate, care and conserve our precious earth. If artists and writers from long ago had the insight to share their experiences, there is a duty now to amplify these pearls of wisdom or ignore at our own peril. We can continue to draw advice from yesterday’s writing, what is being said today, and the environment we live in itself. Shakespeare (again) best sums this up: “the tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything”. Now isn’t that inspiring?

Diversity on a Mega-Scale

Australia is a megadiverse country What does megadiverse actually mean?

Koalas, wombats, emus, platypus and freshwater crocodiles are well-known Australian animals, but did you know they are found nowhere else on Earth? These iconic animals and many more are unique to this big island which has largely been isolated since separating from the supercontinent Gondwana about 40 million years ago.

The result has been high levels of ‘endemism’ - over 80% of Australia’s plant, mammal, frog and reptile species occur nowhere else. This rate of uniqueness combined with a high number of overall species (between 600,000 – 700,000) means that Australia is not only rich in biodiversity, but it is also one of planet Earth’s megadiverse countries.

While the world’s 17 megadiverse countries only make up less than 10% of the world’s surface, they support more than 70% of all species. These countries are dotted around the globe and include Australia, our neighbours to the north Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, China, Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo

With mega diversity, comes mega responsibility. As hosts of disproportionately large assortments of the world’s plant, animal and fungi life, and with so many species unique to their homelands, Earth’s 17 megadiverse nations are some of the most important guardians of nature And Australia is no exception

But colonial Australia has not been an effective custodian of nature. While First Nations people have cared for Country for tens of thousands of years and continue to do so today, the last two hundred and thirty years have seen the recognised extinction of 100 endemic species - plants, fish, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals that existed only in Australia.

And the real figure is likely much higher. Since the arrival of Europeans, unsustainable hunting, the destruction of forests, grasslands and wetlands for agriculture and urban sprawl and the devastation wrought by introduced species have proven too much for creatures like the thylacine, yallara (lesser bilby) magnificent spider orchid and paradise parrot. These extinct species are irreplaceable. Each had its role in the ecosystem, culture and language.

Fast forward to today and there are around 2,000 plants and animals on Australia’s list of species threatened by extinction. Australia’s megadiverse nature is in crisis. The destruction of nature mostly occurs in areas of rapid human population growth and in places where poorer economies can’t allocate resources to biodiversity conservation.

Australia therefore shouldn’t have too many issues. Our human population density is extremely low by global standards, most of the continent is sparsely populated and Australia is a relatively affluent nation.

And yet, colonial Australia has caused the extinction of more mammals than any other country in the world. We are the only developed nation on the list of global deforestation hotspots, we now have more foreign plant species than native ones and scientists have identified nineteen Australian ecosystemsfrom the Murray Darling Basin to the Great Barrier Reef - that have undergone such significant negative change, they may never recover.

Nature doesn’t just provide homes for animals. It isn’t just the sound of squawking cockatoos and the smell of eucalyptus - it is the forests that filter the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soils and pollinators of our food. Healthy nature literally underpins everything - from our health, to the economy and our cultures. When nature thrives, so do we. And we know what needs to be done to save our big backyard. To get nature and ourselves out of trouble, we need to stop destroying it and do more to restore it.

2023 is the year to make a difference for nature. Australia has just joined 190 other countries by signing a global agreement for nature. And at home, the Albanese government recently announced a target of zero new extinctions and is set to deliver an overhaul of our environment laws that until now, have failed to stem the extinction crisis. This is very welcome progress, but there’s a lot at stake and all of us - governments, business, people and communities - have a role to play in fixing this mess and ensuring that those doing the biggest damage are held to account

TRIVIA ANSWERS

Q: How many species of native plants is Australia home to?

A: 24,000

Q: Which countries have already achieved net zero emissions?

A: Benin, West Africa; Butan, South Asia; Cambodia, South East Asia; Guyana, South America; Madagascar, East Africa; Suriname, South America

Q: Which is David Attenborough's least favourite animal?

A: Rats

CREDITS

Editor: Lachlan Driscoll

Producer: Lucy Rayner-Toy

WRITERS

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