The Skriker: global warming, eco-fairytales, and science on the stage | Amy C Chambers

Sarah Frankcom and Maxine Peake's interpretation of Caryl Churchill's The Skriker retains its environmental relevance, but can it inspire audiences into political action?

Caryl Churchill's postmodern play The Skriker is just about to begin its final week of a sold-out run at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre and its environmentalist message is as worryingly relevant today as when it premiired at the National Theatre twenty-one years ago. This has been a summer of headlines about record-breaking temperatures; according to scientists the Earth as a whole has experienced its hottest June and the hottest first half of the year since records began. The current climate crisis is entwined with a lengthy history of industrialisation, reckless ecological practices, and the environmental movement has been blighted by financial crisis, austerity, and a political and corporate denial of this global catastrophe. Global warming and climate change are unavoidable issues that permeate news media and increasingly fictional media.

'It's a clarion call "Maybe it will make people look at what we're doing on a global scale and how wrong it is.' - Maxine Peake