Ecology, climate, apocalypse
Ecology can become the subject of tragicomedy when the folly of humans jeopardizes their very existence as a species. The theme of ecology is still relatively underexplored in theater as a genuine dramatic narrative. It is often addressed in an educational and moralizing manner in performances aimed at fostering a salutary awakening.
Jean-Pierre Martinez, in his theater works, tackles the impending climate apocalypse as a true tragedy in the literal sense. Just as in any tragedy, the protagonists are predeterminedly condemned by the dark forces eating away at them from within, and they hurtle towards their demise without taking any action to avert it, driven by fatalism or blinded by a sense of omnipotence.
For humanity, it’s another form of hubris to believe that it can overcome “nature” and drag it down with them. The foretold end of life on Earth won’t stop the world from turning. Humanity’s self-destruction won’t prevent life from thriving differently, or elsewhere.
Ecology is primarily a trial of humanity itself. Given its largely catastrophic track record, does humanity deserve to be saved? That is the true ethical question posed by the issue of the already-commenced climate apocalypse.
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