Feral Theatre Declares a Climate and Ecological Emergency

In recognition of the science of climate change and of the devastating climate-related impacts of extractive capitalism on human lives, biodiversity and ecosystems around the world, Feral Theatre declares a climate and ecological emergency. We pledge to work with and support our communities in West Wales and Brighton in tackling this emergency, and we call on others to do the same. These are our intentions:

1. We will tell the truth

Governments and the media must tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency and its associated harms that disproportionately affect frontline communities and people of colour all over the world. Governments and the media must communicate the urgent need for far-reaching systemic change. We pledge to:

• Use our work to communicate with people, promote discussion and understanding and support them to respond to the climate and ecological emergency, and to recognise and accept the changes that are needed.

2. We will take action

Governments must reverse climate-harming policies and enact legally binding policy measures to reduce CO2 emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels. We pledge to:

• Work towards reducing Feral Theatre’s CO2 emissions to net zero by 2025 by continuously reviewing and developing our environmental policies and practices
• Imagine and model ways that Feral Theatre and its organisational and creative practices (ranging from fundraising and procurement to research and relationship building) can regenerate the planet’s biodiversity and ecosystems in ways that support social and racial justice.

3. We are committed to justice

The emergency has arisen from deeply systemic injustices. Arts and culture can imagine and forge shifts in the ways people relate to one another and the world, in values and behaviours. We pledge to:

• Use Feral Theatre’s privileges, platforms and other resources to amplify the voices of people experiencing climate and environmental injustice and highlight intergenerational harm.
• Support practical acts of solidarity that are informed by people directly affected by the systems and structures driving the ecological emergency, and promote initiatives led by these communities.
• Embed an emphasis on rapid action for climate justice into our artistic processes of collaboration and creation from the earliest stages, weaving reflective dialogue into the progression of all our projects and practices.
• Acknowledge the social and moral responsibility of artists to reflect the enormity of the climate crisis and the opportunity art give us to explore, and provide a container for the emotional responses it elicits including grief, action, fear and anger.

Declaration ends.

For more information on #CultureDeclaresEmergency, please see the Culture Declares Emergency website.