Sunday 13 February 2011

Greenland, National Theatre, 12 Feb 11

This play, written by no less than four playwrights, has had very mixed reviews from the critics, but I would say it is definitely worth going to see. Tackling the issue of global warming dramatically is not an easy ask, and sadly this fails in the attempt, although there are some really moving moments plus lots of spectacular effects. There are various narratives running through the play - the most compelling one involves an ornithologist studying seabirds in the Arctic - but they fail to coalesce into a satisfying whole. The drama is inevitably a bit preachy and the humour is rather hit and miss, but my companion and I had much to talk about afterwards, even if the conversation was more about the play's weaknesses than the complex issues it attempted to explore.