Myriad views of the climate disaster and the desperation and depression that emerges in its rise.

How does one frame a play about climate change and still add to the already burgeoning conversation? Adapted for a Singaporean production, Australian playwright David Finnigan’s Scenes From The Climate Era is keenly aware of the weighty and convoluted nature of the climate crisis, and how difficult it can be to represent onstage. The solution? To lean into its fragmented and divisive nature, and present as many perspectives as possible to capture this spectrum of views.

Directed and adapted by Ellison Tan, this Esplanade-commissioned version of the play brings together an ensemble of seven actors, comprising Siti Hajar, Tay Kong Hui, Ali Mazrin, Vishnucharan Naidu, Lian Sutton, Gloria Tan, Claire Teo, and Teo Pei Si, as they perform a series of non-sequitur scenes capturing snapshots of varying reactions and pondering on how to live with this horrifying new normal.

Taking on a minimalist setup, the Esplanade Theatre Studio is furnished only with a large white round table as the centrepiece, a couple of chairs, and black seat cushions. It’s to the cast and Ellison’s credit that they’re able to use just a little theatre magic to make us see in our mind’s eye when we’re being transported to various locations each time they change scenes, whether it’s an iceberg in Antarctica, or a couple’s living room. In part this is also thanks to how it adopts an Embedded Narration format, where more descriptive lines are integrated into the dialogue and before scenes begin, for better Creative Access. Sound artist Bani Haykal also does plenty of heavy lifting with his soundtrack, each scene supported by atmospheric sound design that raises the tension or lulls us into a false sense of security.

Scenes From The Climate Era is keenly aware of how difficult it can be to even begin grappling with the reality that our world is dying, aptly referencing its own title in one of the most innocuous scenes, where a group of friends play a game of Just Dance while hanging out at one of their homes. Claire Teo, playing an environmentalist, comments on how she prefers to think of this as a ‘climate era’, too late to change anything and accepting that more natural disasters and problems will naturally arise because of the damage we’ve already put into the world, much to the chagrin and shock of her friends, and encapsulates the existential dread of being alive in such an unprecedented time.

It is this scene that anchors the play as a whole, where we feel a constant sense of doom undercutting every other scene in the show. Siti Hajar stands out amidst the ensemble across her roles, playing a woman speaking of ‘endlings’ and caring for the last frog of its species as she hears its sad mating call. In another scene, she plays a scientist recording a video, but is advised to keep from speaking about anything beyond statistics and to end on a note of hope, so that viewers don’t feel too panicked or that she’s pushing a political agenda. There is barely concealed frustration in her responses, and we see in her eyes and body the sense of agency completely stripped away from her.

Elsewhere, the remainder of the cast play myriad roles to varying effects. Some of the scenes hit harder, such as when Claire Teo and Ali Mazrin play a couple debating whether it is still ethical to have a child, fighting against their own desires to have one. Others, such as Tay Kong Hui leading a Chinese team trying to contain a glacier, feels flat compared to other scenes that precede or follow it. As much as it does speak hard truths, particularly of how difficult it is to fathom the extent of seriousness of the crisis, due to the nature of the play’s structure as well, it is difficult for many scenes to immediately capture our attention in the short span each one is given, being introduced to new characters and situations each time, and that process of orientating ourselves becomes tedious after sometime.

Perhaps though, when the play comes to its climactic finale, is when we sit up and listen, with Gloria Tan, Ali Mazrin, Vishnucharan Naidu and Lian Sutton, each playing a character in a different year and place, as they vividly describe the climate crisis reaching boiling point. We mean that quite literally, as they perform their respective monologues that speak of dangerously high temperatures, typhoons that flood the streets, terrible fires that break out and scorch a village, or the sudden emptiness a climate rally seems to trigger when an activist wonders what’s the point of it all. It’s an apocalyptic vision of the future that feels urgent and terrifying as we shift from one monologue to another, as if these disasters will come sooner than we expect it to, and we are left with a sense of fear and abject horror.

In its final scene, all the noise fades to silence, as Claire Teo climbs to the top of the table, and pours out water from a plastic bottle onto the surface, as the other actors watch, transfixed. It leaves a puddle behind, and we wonder what it represents – the melting of the ice caps? The futility of our efforts to save the world? As one might expect, it’s not exactly a play that inspires hope. There are few laughs that are heard during the play itself, mostly because it often hits too close to home, or because the play handles issues that feel so big, where even initially innocent conversations weigh heavy on the soul.

Scenes From The Climate Era is a provocative watch that leaves us with no solutions by its end – because how can it, when there is so much to deal with? It is a stark reflection of where we are and where we might be headed, sobering and overwhelming as it attempts to shoulder the immensity of the climate crisis through its fractured form and shifting voices. This structure may dilute the impact of individual moments, but is nonetheless a piece that demands our attention, leading to introspection, holding a mirror to our paralysis in these unprecedented times, and throws the problem back at us, asking what, if anything, we plan to do next.

Photos by Crispian Chan, courtesy of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Scenes From The Climate Era played from 18th to 20th July 2025 at the Esplanade Theatre Studio. More information available here

The Studios 2025 – Sustenance runs from July to September 2025. Full programme and more information available here

Production Credits:

Playwright David Finnigan Director Ellison Tan Costume Coordinator Loo An Ni Lighting Designer Adrian Tan Movement Director Yvan Karlsson Sound Designer Bani Haykal Creative Access Collaborator Claire Teo Cast Siti Hajar, Tay Kong Hui, Ali Mazrin, Vishnucharan Naidu, Lian Sutton, Gloria Tan, Claire Teo, Teo Pei Si Producer Shridar Mani (The Public Space) Production Manager Cindy Yeong Stage Manager Woo Hsia Ling Assistant Stage Manager Cristabel Ng