The World We Made—An urgent play about our future

What will it take for us to save ourselves?

The World We Made is told by Keli and Luke, two students living in 2050. It shows a glimpse of how our lives could be in the future, if we pull together and change now…before it’s too late. We take a look at 2050 through these students’ eyes and imagine the dramatic events that have got us there.

This is a story of ordinary and extraordinary people from around the world who together achieve profound change: a Danish scientist, a global pop star, a Canadian truck driver, an African human rights activist, and a community gardener from Yorkshire.

The journey follows personal and collective challenges, the struggles and losses as well as the enormous achievements, painting a compelling picture of the defining moments, breakthroughs and lifestyle revolutions that have made the world ‘work’ in 2050.

With support from CUSP, and based on extensive factual research from Jonathon Porritt’s seminal book of the same name, The World We Made offers a vibrant and dynamic vision of a world that is still available to us—if we act fast on the radical changes that are needed so urgently today.

Development of the script forms part of the fellowship for playwright Beth Flintoff, and is informed by close collaboration with CUSP director Tim Jackson. The premiere opened this year’s CHANGE festival; a new arts festival in Warwick, produced by Becky Burchell, inviting audiences to imagine better.

Concept

The design team have worked with the very latest lightweight, rechargeable sound and lighting technology, so that everything that is needed to stage the play can be toured in just four suitcases. This makes it possible for the cast to travel to performances on public transport, thereby keeping their carbon footprint as low as possible.

Becky Burchell adds: “This is a play for anyone who is wondering what the future might hold, and for those who are curious about what their role might be in creating it. The story is funny, urgent, uplifting, challenging, profound and hopeful – and will appeal to wide audiences, ages 11 to 101. So come along and bring a friend, we promise you’ll leave with a lot to talk about!”

The World We Made was commissioned for CHANGE Festival (Warwick Arts Centre, Oct 2019) and has been funded by CUSP, the Arts Council England, Reboot the Future, Amersi Foundation, Jonathon Porritt and Good Energy.

Creative Process

The play has been inspired by and supported by leading environmentalists who themselves have already made a significant positive impact on the world. Jonathon Porritt, longstanding environmentalist, and founder of Forum for the Future, has been a close advisor on the project, to ensure that the content of the play is not only compelling, but also as factually accurate, convincing and authentic as possible. “As people get to grips with the immensity of the climate crisis, it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed or to lurch into despair—the very opposite of what we need in such a crisis! The World We Made sets out to empower people with a simple message: we still have time; we know what we need to do; and real hope lies in taking action now.” Says Porritt.

Also supporting the play is ecological economist Professor Tim Jackson, who as a fellow play wright, has been a creative and environmental advisor to Flintoff during the script writing. Jackson comments: “The World We Made is a powerful fusion of drama and activism. Beth Flintoff’s characters bring Jonathon Porritt’s vision to life in surprising and moving ways and the audience is left with the inescapable suspicion that another world is possible!”

Three environmental legends have stories that are so inspirational that Flintoff decided to write them as characters in the play itself: Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt tree planting movement in Kenya; Søren Hermansen founder of the first carbon-neutral island in the modern world on the Danish island of Samsø; and Pam Warhurst, founder of the Incredible Edibles network, creating local food growing communities across the world.

Through experiencing their stories in the play, along with additional fictional characters, the audiences are invited to imagine a different, more hopeful vision of the future, but also to consider what their own, individual role might be in creating this greener future.