A couple leave outraged reviews about products delivered by Amazon, while climate chaos swishes into their home... Their responses to their escalating crisis become increasingly absurd, topped only by the absurdity of Amazon’s tactics to thwart them.
Here is our mini podcast Q&A with him!
Q: If you were a sound effect, what would you sound like?
A: The patter of mischievous elven feet (there must be something to the number for people who reference elves, leprechauns and other mythical creatures when referering to me).
Q: Why did you write about this topic?
A: My lunch kept getting soggy since I would sob into my sandwich every day about the dire state of the world. So I thought my sandwiches would taste better if I was making entertaining theatre works, instead of sitting around crying. And then I would have more energy for getting involved with climate movements since I wasn’t continually having to make new sandwiches. Does anyone else have this problem?
Q: What is your favourite place in nature?
A: The high Arctic Circle was mind blowing.
Q: Who would you like to listen to your episode?
A: Definitely not Amazon. Amazon, if you are reading this - it was strictly a satire, so please don't sue me.
Q: What was your most memorable podcast-writing moment?
A: While we were creating my episode, which involves a flood in a house, one of our audio producers had… a mini flood in her house. But instead of leaving absurd reviews on Amazon about the newly delivered couch (like the couple does in the episode), our audio producer got out her microphone and recorded sounds of the flood for the podcast - what a champion! Talk about life imitating art imitating life.
Why Not, also based in Tkaronto/Toronto, say:
'Our vision is a world with limitless possibilities for all. Our mission is to make things better through art. To reinvent how stories are told to inspire new ways of thinking about creativity and civic engagement.'
Soulpepper is Canada's leading artist-driven theatre company and is based in Tkatonro/Toronto. We'll let them introduce themselves in their own words:
'We believe that stories can connect us, that they are vital to our understanding, compassion and knowledge, and that they can motivate us toward social change.'
Sunny's inventive and award-winning theatre works have been presented in over 60 cities across the world and translated into 4 languages. His wide range of audiences have spanned international arts festivals goers, queers in underground warehouses, seniors in regional theatres and young people in drop-in centres.
Our Impact Producer, Chaprece Henry, unpacks the climate themes
in this episode in our Discussion Guide
Written by SUNNY DRAKE
Directed by WEYNI MENGESHA
Starring:
ANAND RAJARAM
LIISA REPO-MARTELL
and BAHAREH YARAGHI as Amazon
Sound design and music by RICHARD FEREN and OLIVIA SHORTT
Dramaturgy by KATHLEEN FLAHERTY, WEYNI MENGESHA and DONNA-MICHELLE ST. BERNARD
Episode produced by WHY NOT THEATRE and SUNNY DRAKE PRODUCTIONS with the generous support of SOULPEPPER THEATRE
Episode Producer: MICHELLE YAGI
Episode Production Manager: CRYSTAL LEE
Audio mixing by HEATHER BROWN
Recording engineer MATT RIDEOUT
Special thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, The Arctic Circle Residency Program and fellow residents, Climate Change Theatre Action, ACTRA Toronto, Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, Volcano Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Chantal Bilodeau, Chanelle Gallant, Alex Kelly and Isaac Lev Szmonko
This episode was recorded in Tkaronto, Toronto, which is Dish With One Spoon territory, the territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
Most of us believe in climate change, so what prevents wide scale climate action? Climate psychology may explain some of this. Another hidden barrier to action is the wealth of misinformation. Many big corporations, like fossil fuel companies or other types of extractive industries can attempt to influence political decision-making on climate and public opinion on these issues. Check out the Discussion Guide for more about this!
The good news is that we can rewire our brains and also combat attempts to keep us inactive, by working together towards action. Act today. Support this petition by Dogwood BC for Canada to kick its oil and natural gas addiction!
