A PLAY FOR THE LIVING IN A TIME OF EXTINCTION

I worked as sound designer on the Belgrade Theatre leg of the tour of Miranda Rose Hall’s A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction. A Headlong and Barbican co-production, sharing learning from Europe and director Katie Mitchell, Headlong presented an innovative touring model, the first of its kind in the UK, which saw a play tour, while the people do not.

The Barbican hosted the beginning of this journey where, in each city, a blueprint of the show was uniquely brought to life by a different team of theatre makers in each venue. It formed part of a ground-breaking international experiment in reimagining theatre in a climate crisis. The director for the Belgrade production was Nyasha Gudo.

“The difference between death and extinction is this: death is to cease to exist. Extinction is to extinguish. I think of death as individual. Extinction is collective.”

Naomi is part of a theatre company who have made a play especially for you, those living through extinction, but the actors haven’t shown up yet. In the meantime, Naomi has a plan.

This innovative one woman show takes us on a life-changing journey to confront the urgent ecological disaster that is unfolding around us. Part ritual, part battle cry, and powered by bicycles, this fiercely feminist off-grid production is a moving exploration of what it means to be human in an era of man-made extinction.

Following an initial run at Barbican, London 26-29 April, A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction played at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry 10-13 May 2023 and then toured New Vic Stoke, Theatre Royal Plymouth, York Theatre Royal, and Shakespeare North.