Rehearsing the future

“3rd Ring Out” has been directed by Dr. Zoe Svendsen, a University of Cambridge research fellow in the Faculty of English. It will be running today, Saturday and Sunday on Parker’s Piece, before it heads to Greenwich Park, London, later this month.

Performed in the somewhat less than conventional confines of two orange shipping containers, the play has been described as a cross between an emergency planning rehearsal, a video game and a multimedia ‘choose your own adventure’ book.

Each container is designed to resemble the command centre at the heart of the operation, and the actors play the role of “team leaders” who guide the audience through the developing scenario.

The audiences spend the course of each performance gathered in their “bunker” around a large table, armed with a computer and headphones and pressing buttons to cast their vote on different issues as they emerge. In front of them is a map of the local area, so that they can chart the impact of each decision they make on their own homes. The performers respond live to the decisions made by the audience, improvising around the storyline as it develops, in response to the way in which the audience vote.

The simulation is always set in the city where the play is being performed. A recent run at the Pulse Festival in Ipswich, for example, dealt with the effects flooding might have on one of the lowest-lying and risk-prone parts of eastern England following a global rise in temperatures.

In the Cambridge scenario the fens have flooded and the city must tackle other issues that apply to locations further inland. Audiences in London will encounter a heatwave and its consequences for the capital.

“The aim is to give each community the opportunity to take a journey into its own future and see how things might look as climate change takes effect,” Dr. Svendsen said. “They can see how the choices they make now might impact on the way their city looks in 2033.”

The production is the brainchild of Metis Arts, a Cambridge-based performing arts company and network with a particular interest in using innovative methods to connect with its audiences and in addressing contemporary issues through performances based on real research.

The inspiration for “3rd Ring Out” came from an earlier project which examined spaces in Cambridge that had been used in times of war. The team encountered a number of people who had gone through emergency planning scenarios during the Cold War to prepare them for a nuclear attack, and decided to update the same context with a climate change theme – looking at the future rather than the past.

Meticulous research was carried out with the support of scientists, geographers and emergency planners to make the experience as authentic as possible. As well as showing people the effects climate change may have on the UK in a worst-case scenario, “3rd Ring Out” also explores ideas about heroism, democracy, survival and how we might collectively imagine our future.

After the performance, they can find out how everyone else “voted” during different performances and the consequences those choices had compared with their own, by visiting the play’s website: http://www.3rdringout.com/

“3rd Ring Out” will run until Sunday, June 20th, 2010 in Cambridge and then at the Greenwich and Docklands Festival, London, from June 24th to July 4th. Full details, including of how to book, can be found via the website.