Earthquakes in London

Synopsis

Burlesque strip shows, bad dreams, social breakdown, population explosion, worldwide paranoia. A fast and furious metropolitan crash of people, scenes and decades, as three sisters attempt to navigate their dislocated lives and loves, while their dysfunctional father, a brilliant scientist, predicts global catastrophe. Nothing I do means anything certainly and that’s depressing. But also, nothing I do is going to be the end of the world. There’s a comfort in that. An all-pervasive fear of the future and a guilty pleasure in the excesses of the present drive Mike Bartlett’s epic rollercoaster of a play from 1968 to 2525 and back again. It’s Cabaret, we’ve got our heads down and we’re dancing and drinking as fast as we can. The enemy is on its way, but this time it doesn’t have guns and gas it has storms and earthquakes, fire and brimstone. You were the glimmer. At the end of the tunnel. And you went out.

Our Review:

3 November 2011

[Mike Bartlett’s Earthquakes in London is, by its own admission (declaration, even!) epic in its scope. Climate change, relationship breakdowns, the end of the world and everything in between; these are the subjects of the work. The play’s staging reflects the scope of its theatre. Elaborate and grandiose, the sheer spectacle of the thing lends weight to the message contained within. We’re effortlessly transported from nightclub to living room, from Parliament Hill to the interior of the Department for the Environment. Scenes frequently overlap, the decisions of the past clashing with their future consequences over and over again.

Familial twists and turns are played out on a revolving stage. It’s an impressive setting for a touring show and apt for the performance it hosts; a performance rallying for revolution, urging us to consider the environmental effects of our actions. Unfortunately, it’s a message presented not without fault. A jumbled...

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