Review: The Trials (Tron Theatre)

This Play, More Than Any Other, Will Make You Question Your Carbon

Some people will baulk at the concept of The Trials, but they shouldn’t. Dawn King’s new play, directed by Joanna Bowman, imagines a future in which the climate crisis has wreaked havoc. There are floods, fires, limited resources – and now those with the biggest carbon footprints must answer for their crimes. The jury is composed of teenagers, who must decide the fate of the grown-ups. So, yes, not everyone will be convinced by this premise. They’ll roll their eyes at the unlikelihood, at the self-righteousness of the children, at the idea that things would ever get that bad. But like all the best pieces of science fiction, this is not a play about how this future could come to be, but what it would look like if it did. Although you won’t have to answer for your “crimes”, the crisis that we face is anything but fiction.

First on the stand, a man most of us will see ourselves in: a bit of recycling here, a few international holidays there, very little energy for confronting the crisis. Next, we have someone we’d consider an “eco-warrior” today – a member of the green party, a playwright addressing the climate crisis in her work (hello, Dawn King), and someone who puts the blame at the feet of the corporations. Lastly, a self-professed super-polluter – someone who greenwashed oil companies in the public eye for decades. These three archetypes, and how they are judged, tell us so much about how we perceive ourselves and how little we process our own complicity.

The kids themselves are a microcosm of British society. When we talk about the “children of the future”, we often imagine doe-eyed innocence, rid of all the human failings and impulses of previous generations. Not so, with King’s jury. They’re angry, they’re upset, they’re bored, they talk over each other, they argue for the sake of it, but the majority hide in the corner, unable to decide for themselves. The children of tomorrow are not better than the adults in charge today, but they are left with the mess they made.

Photo Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

As an ensemble, the young cast showcases some outstanding talent. Most notable is Oskar Waring as Theo, an embittered teenager seeking revenge. He makes you both resent and respect his character. Bowman’s direction takes King’s extraordinary play and lets it shine, while also weaving in some imaginative touches. There are moments in the story in which the kids allow themselves to play, to fantasise about long-lost wonders like snow and air travel. The importance of these might otherwise be lost, but Bowman reminds us that they are still children in these moments.

Whether you baulked at the premise or not, one cannot get to the end of this play without asking: how do I measure up? What are my crimes? And you will probably rattle them off, make excuses for your excess, take pride in your efforts, no matter how meagre, and reason that there isn’t exactly anything you would do differently. I mean, what are you meant to do? Start glueing yourself to the road? Hardly. And yet, you can’t shake that sinking feeling that sits in your stomach, that this is all going to come back to bite you. There aren’t many plays that can do that. Five stars.

Whispers from the Crowd: "It's really made me think. My dad's in the oil industry. It's really made me think about the life I've had, and how it's going to affect my daughter. I'm going to go home and talk to him about this play."

The Trials has completed it's run at the Tron Theatre