"It's just the persuading bit": Children, Performance and Climate Action

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Newberry, Rachael. 2025. "It's just the persuading bit": Children, Performance and Climate Action. In: Ugur Ada, ed. British Theatre and Young People: Theory and Performance in the 21st Century. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 51-64. ISBN 9781032746883 [Book Section]

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In this chapter Newberry considers the relationship between environmental and ecological performance, and its engagement with, and relationship to, young people in the UK. Taking as a starting point the dearth of young voices in conventional climate-related theatre, she looks at three specific case studies to propose a reimagining of the collaborative process. Focusing on works by Cornelia Parker, Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari, and the educational theatre company Cap-a-Pie, Newberry explores ways in which the creative industries might harness the child-like qualities of playfulness, imagination and incorruptibility, to propose a more optimistic future for climate activism and creative awareness. In the face of the global climate crisis, the question we might ask is, how might children offer an opportunity for us to think differently, without being cast as our saviours or rescuers from impending climate chaos.

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