By Julie-Anne Whitney
‘Last Catastrophist’ – Written by David Valdes; Directed by Sarah Gazdowicz; Sound Design by Vinny Laino; Lighting Design by Read Davidson; Costume Design by Erica Desautels; Scenic Design by Andrew Kolifrath; Dramaturgy by Sarah Schnebly; Fight Choreography by Marge Dunn; Stage Managed by Sam O’Brien. Presented by Fresh Ink Theatre, this world premiere production runs through February 8, 2020 at the Plaza Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts.
According to National Geographic, Climatology is “the study of climate and how/why it changes over time.” Climatologists – not to be confused with meteorologists (who study the weather and weather forecasting) – study the Earth’s climate by collecting and analyzing data from sources such as ice, soil, water, air, and plants to find patterns in weather and understand how those patterns affect the environment.
Set on the coast of Iceland, Fresh Ink Theatre’s production ofDavid Valdes’ provocative new play, Last Catastrophist, offers a chilling glimpse into a possibly not-so-distant future in which climatologists (aka catastrophists) are being threatened into silence by a group called Eternal Sunshine while the world and its inhabitants are suffering from the disastrous effects of global climate change.
It’s not difficult to imagine the fictional world of Valdes’ play where “Eternal Sunshine bought off Congress,” “Big Oil has taken over the Department of the Interior” and “The [NY] Times is required to hate everything written by a catastrophist.” Meanwhile here in the real world, the President of the United States is one of many financially-driven climate deniers actively working to mislead the public on issues of climate change in order to delay or block any compulsory climate policies; 17-year-old Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, is bullied and ridiculed daily simply for speaking scientific truth; and months of extreme drought and record-breaking high temperatures have caused unprecedented bushfires across Australia leading to the loss of over 1 billion animals and nearly 25 million acres of land, and the list goes on and on.
In Last Catastrophist, the setting is particularly dire: small islands and entire countries are under water, Africa has become an uninhabitable “deathtrap” for migrating animals because, as one character states, “extinction is the new black.” And America’s two remaining climatologists – Marina, a Cuban-American from Florida (played by Evelyn Holley), and Lucia, an African-American from Oklahoma (played by Shanelle Chloe Villegas) – are fighting to stay alive so that science and truth don’t die with them. Holley brings a stern and steady sting to the role of leery, independent Marina, and Villegas brings a disarming playfulness to the role of earnest, determined Lucia. Neither woman trusts the other; both have secrets to keep; both are skeptical of the other’s intentions; and both have a lot to lose, not the least of which are their children and loved ones back home in America.
With a minimal set, it isRead Davidson’s ghoulish lighting design paired with Vinny Laino’s eerie sound design that create the mysterious atmosphere necessary for the play. The ever-present sound of running water suggests a world that is literally melting around Marina and Lucia’s feet. Rushing waterfalls, speeding rivers, melting ice mounds, thunderous rainstorms, and the lonely sound of boots crunching through miles of snow all contribute to the feelings of isolation and imminent danger. However, it did seem as if the crafty lighting and sound designs were masking the weak spots in Valdes’ script in which the scientists trek again and again and again…and again…through the Icelandic wilderness in order to find shelter.
Last Catastrophist pushes for answers to difficult questions (who is the real enemy? what is our responsibility? what is worth saving? how do we go on?) and in the end, it demands that the audience decide whether or not they should take action in the real world before – as Valdes writes – “the earth [becomes] a shitbox” that is “short on crops and long on corpses.” For tickets and information, go to: http://freshinktheatre.org/
