Kyoto at Sohoplace production image. Photo by Manuel Harlan.Playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson have assembled the work through meticulous research and the crafting of communiques into dialogue scenes which essentially follow a largely historical narrative. As the years pass, Pearlman (Stephen Kunken) together with his long-suffering wife Shirley (Jenna Augen) travel the globe attending conferences. Whilst he uses legalese to confound and disrupt any attempt to challenge capitalist ideals and the American way of life, she visits museums, gardens and galleries, alone. Directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin on a playing area largely denoted by a huge delegates’ table, each actor represent the interests of various nations, from the big players like America (Nancy Crane) China (Kwong Loke) and Saudi Arabia (Raad Rawi), to African nations like Tanzania (Aïcha Kosovo) and lesser island groups like Kiribati (Andrea Gatchalian) who live in fear that their very survival will be subordinated to the commercial interests of the largest polluters. Amidst the horrendously bureaucratic gamesmanship wholly dictated by national interest, emerges one man, Argentinian Ambassador Raúl Estrada-Oyuela (a terrifically engaging turn by Jorge Busch) who battles the increasingly entrenched positions with gentle persuasion and rational pragmatism in a bid to accommodate everyone and ultimately force compromise.
Several scenes illustrate the nuanced sensitivities around syntax and the mind-numbing amount of time spent agreeing word choices used in the final communiques. These are often projected up onto screens, with corrections and amendments happening in real time as the fractious debates play out below. Linchpin to getting anything agreed after 10 years of debates and grandstanding, was inclusion of the word discernible, which finally demonstrated that all delegates accepted mankind was in some way responsible for the impending climate catastrophe and was therefore required to act. The various COP meetings, protocols and accords which led to Kyoto in 1997 are a testament to the tenacity and resolve of those who advocated for action, but as this play so clearly illustrates, we have a long way to go and time is not on our side.
As a piece of entertainment, the production dazzles, amuses, educates and impresses. This reviewer certainly feels better informed than ever about the subject and I strongly urge everyone who can, to see it. Even your theatre programme will boast 100% recycled pulp credentials.
Plays at Sohoplace until 3 May 2025.
