How did you research and collate the information for the play?
We got a lot of experts to come in and talk to us. We met some incredible people – journalists, scientists and politicians. We asked a bunch of basic questions, and we started to piece together some sense of the subject.
Who was the most interesting person you spoke to?
We had such a range of people. Marcus Brigstocke, the comedian, came in to talk to us about a trip he'd been on to Cape Farewell in the Arctic, to see the ice shelves collapsing and the physical effects of climate change. It spoiled his life for a year, and found it di ffcult to think of anything else other than climate change.
What about the politicians you spoke to?
I was weirdly fortunate to end up on the same train as Ed Miliband during the leadership contest. He just sat down opposite me, and I had an article about Copenhagen in front of me. It was like some strange set-up. For an hour and a half and we talked about the failure and, to an extent, the success of Copenhagen, and what might happen in the next few years.
How difficult did you find it to incorporate all of the scientific evidence and conflicting interpretations into the play?
There were two challenges; one was to take the evidence book and create something that is a theatrical experience for people. I’ve seen plays that have been factually accurate, but really boring. So, early on, we wanted to make sure this was a personal story that people could get into, and let the facts bubble beneath the surface. We’re representing loads of different points of view here, but 95 per cent or more of scientists believe that human beings have had an adverse effect on the climate – we have created it. If you drill down into a lot of the smarter sceptics, their actual problem is what we're doing with the science, as opposed to what the science is really telling us.
You have to present the facts to the audience, and say: “We don't have all the answers, but here's what we found out. How do you feel about it?”
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