Resilience

No Small Change

Resilience

(Part Two of The Contingency Plan)

by Steve Waters

The Questors at the Studio, Questors Theatre, Ealing until 17^th June

Review by Polly Davies

A bright sunny Sunday afternoon is not the best preparation for a matinee performance of a play about climate change, but David Emmet’s direction and the excellent characterisation of the ensemble cast meant that I was engrossed in the story within minutes of the start.   The crisis at the heart of this play is real, and the play gives a credible foretaste of what climate change could mean in practice here in the UK.

The plays’ intent is to shock us into recognising the urgency of taking action to mitigate these risks.   But what action and when?  That recently too familiar question is sympathetically tackled in Steve Waters timely play Resilience, part of a double bill The Contingency Plan, playing in the small Studio at the Questors Ealing till 17^th June.   Premiered in 2009, this new production has been updated to reflect current events in UK politics, and the increasing urgency of action on climate change. 

While its pair, On the Beach looks at the impact on individuals, Resilience is firmly set in the realm of politics.  Indeed, some of the lighter moments in the play, which seemed to resonate with the audience, came from recognisable nods to UK political controversies over the last few years.

The play shows a real understanding of the weight that each mini decision carries; the competing pressures that everyone involved in the situation face.  It opens with Priya Patel as Sarika tussling between maintaining her civil service sang-froid and her desire to promote the new research that has come from Antarctica.  It is a tension that Priya’s performance maintains throughout the play.    

The stark set, a meeting table and a telephone at each corner of a room, reflects the stark choices facing the politicians and officials gathering for the meeting.   Following a catastrophic flood politicians must be seen to act.   Government has created a new Department of Resilience to address these issues.   The two politicians, Despina Sellar as Tessa Fortnum and Julian Casey as Christopher “Call me Chris” Casson stole the show for me.   Despina’s Tessa, a red-wall no nonsense Tory, favours the status quo, thinks the radical option smacks of the nanny state and will be far too expensive.  Meanwhile Julian’s affable but lightweight Secretary of State bluffs his way through the multitude of acronyms but is more willing to adopt a radical approach.  They are to varying degrees sceptical about the subject.   But the Prime Minister wants advice, the public are waiting for reassurance, the tabloids are no doubt gathering.   I could easily imagine them both avoiding direct questions from Laura Kuenssberg about the role of the Department on the following Sunday morning. 

As the meeting progresses, we are introduced to the climate advisor who has been moved to the new Department without much enthusiasm for its new role.  David Sellar perfectly captures the world-weary Colin Jenks, who has been around the political circuit for many years.  He has lost his campaigning zeal and provides the reassuring voice that politicians want to hear.    The urgency comes from the young glaciologist Will Paxton who pleads for the Government to undertake a radical and far-reaching action plan now.   

The second act is darker.  It is months later; action plans have been agreed but little has been put in place.  Meanwhile Jake Burnam’s convincing portrayal of Will Paxton as a young keen environmentalist wrapped up in his data takes centre stage.  As politicians dither, Will is becoming more and more out of his depth and frustrated as he tries and fails to convince the politicians of the severity of the situation.  A violent weather event approaches the UK.  He knows that if they get their response wrong people will die.  They know that too rapid a response risks the wrath of the public and derision in the media.

The setting of this play in the small studio in the round is perfect when at this point everyone is actually and metaphorically plunged into the dark, as the storm has caused a power cut.  Sitting around the darkened room, so close to the now useless phones, it was not difficult to feel the claustrophobic effect of the darkness on its participants and to understand their panic and then relief when power was restored.

As the play reaches its chilling and shocking end, we are left to wonder what might have been if the warnings had been heeded in time.   Leaving the theatre to find the sunny afternoon had given way to a downpour seemed only too apt.

Polly Davies, June 2023

Photography by Jane Arnold-Forster