Trip to watch 'Kyoto'

On 13th March, a select group of 6th formers and lower school eco club members jumped on a train and went to London to see the play ‘Kyoto’, a political thriller from the Royal Shakespeare Company dramatising the rocky path to the international treaty signed in Japan in 1997, where countries first agreed to work together to reduce CO2e emissions in an effort to limit global warming.

Although lengthy UN deliberations might seem an unlikely source of riveting drama we were all utterly gripped by the performance. The stage took the form of the United Nations negotiations table, with delegates from around the world taking their place at it, with those from Tanzania, China, Saudi Arabia, Germany and the US in particular making their voices heard. However it was Don Pearlman, a lawyer and oil lobbyist, (and former member of the Reagan administration) who played the main part and stepped on to that stage with the aim of disrupting and delaying negotiations in a desperate effort to protect what he perceived to be ‘the American way of life’. Brilliantly played by Stephen Kunken, Pearlman narrated the proceedings and shared his artful ploys for stalling and stymying. The hero of the play, however, had to be the delegate for Republic of Kiribati, (played by Andrea Gatchalian) whose concerns were initially brushed aside, but ultimately impossible to ignore as she gathered the backing of the newly formed Alliance of Small Island States representing 39 island states for whom sea level rise is also an existential threat.

The group were really enthused by the performance - here are a selection of comments they wrote down on the train home:

"An insightful glimpse into the art of negotiation and the balance between the climate emergency and the social and economic factors that define each country’s response to international threats."

"A brilliant balance of truth, drama and humour; a moving and insightful play."

"I left awestruck! The play really made me reflect on the idea of unity, for despite all the years of negotiations, all the division over policies, all the tiny debates over commas and the exhaustion of disagreement, the world still managed to come together and agree. That filled me with such a sense of hope."