Screaming into the Abyss

Emily White is clearly a writer who cares about a wide range of issues, from climate change to care homes, from single parenthood to society’s inequalities, from alcoholism to abortion to disarmament.

She has taken on the gargantuan task of dealing with them all in just 2hrs 20 minutes in Atlantis, an award-winning new play produced in association with Theatre Clywd, now on at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre in West Sussex until Saturday August 15.

The sheer number of those issues means that the narrative simply alludes to some of society’s most serious challenges rather than provoking insightful discussion about some of the UK’s own local communities most threatened by climate change and its wider impact.

Sky TV’s recent Under Salt Marsh was filmed along the same stretch of coast including the village of Fairbourne, designated for managed retreat by 2054, which inspired White’s play. It’s a subject that needs to be discussed but here, in the middle of so many other narrative strands, it becomes less impactful in the telling.

Having said that, if you’ve never experienced activist theatre, Atlantis is a good, safe place to start.

The proximity the Minerva creates between actors and audience is up close and personal, so you’re left in no doubt about the skill of every cast member in the production.

Catrin Aaron is utterly believable as Claire, caught between her demanding roles as care worker, mother and daughter doing her very best facing adversity and exhaustion.

Richard Elfyn as Bryn embodies the community’s sense of confusion, helplessness and expectation that others will act decently, the perfect foil for his activist wife Gwen (Viven Parry) who cut her teeth protesting at Greenham Common in the 80s and has raged ever since.

Atlantis spans 2011 – 2039 giving White the chance to explore themes of helplessness, hopelessness and an uncertain future across decades. Eirlys Lovell-Jones, in her stage debut, is Rhiannon, struggling to define and live by her own principles from childhood to middle age. Alfie Llewellyn as her brother Phillip is in turns immensely physical and philosophical, bringing depth and empathy to his role.

And Benjamin Miglioli as young David on the night we attended has impressive presence that promises a bigger future than the Minerva’s tiny stage.

White embraces the Welsh traditions of fable, fairytale and song to good effect in this production, adding dimension and historical perspective to the tale.

While there’s ongoing debate about whether Atlantis was real, there’s no doubt that a changing climate is. If this play provokes one extra person to enter the debate about how to do things differently it will have played its part.

‘The ocean is made of drops’ say the characters. One drop could make a difference before whole communities have to drop everything and run.

The Minerva and its companion Chichester Festival Theatre are committed to improving accessibility for a wide range of theatregoers. Find out more about ways you can enjoy performances on their accessibility page https://www.cft.org.uk/accessibility

Photo: Eirlys Lovell-Jones and Benjamin Miglioli. Credit: Danny Fitzpatrick.