9th - 20th November 2021
Written by Nessah Muthy
Directed by Stef O'Driscoll
Performed by Elizabeth Ayodele
Composer/Musician Neeta Sarl
Touring across London
Lavisha has 99 problems, but climate change ain’t one.
Lavisha is busy. School work and caring for Mum are her priorities. Period. Of course, she cares about the planet but from where she’s standing it seems like posh people have got that one covered.
However, when she lands at a new school young climate change activist Avril is keen to recruit her to the cause, but… what do you do when you can’t afford solar panels on your house and can’t skip school to attend a protest?
There’s never enough time when you’re having to choose between steak dinners and vegan food bank vouchers, staying home for evening face mask rituals and wanting to save the world before it’s too late.
Lavisha reckons posh people are going to save the planet but new mate Avril makes her wonder if she could join the fight.
Written by award-winning Nessah Muthy and directed by Stef O’Driscoll How To Save The Planet When You’re A Young Carer and Broke peeks into the life of a young working-class carer having to make decisions between life-saving responsibilities at home and being dedicated to save the planet in times of climate emergency.
Expect a refreshingly loud solo show with loads of fun, music, raw emotions and the rush of taking climate-positive actions into your own hands.
‘The thing is…when me and my Mum eat steak, afterwards, we always hold in our farts…’
Venues
9th November, 7pm
Bermondsey Campus Community Space
-> SOLD OUT
10th & 11th November, 7:30pm
Theatre Peckham
-> BOOK TICKETS
12th November
Langdon Park School
-> SOLD OUT
Spotlight
-> SOLD OUT
13th November, 7pm
Hackney Showroom
4 Murrain Rd, Finsbury Park, London N4 2BN
-> SOLD OUT
17th November, 5:30 pm
Somerstown Community Centre
2 Ossulston St, London NW1 1EE
18th November, 5:30 pm
Fitzrovia Youth in Action
Warren Centre, Basement, 1-8 Suffolk House, Whitfield Place
19th & 20th November, 2:30 & 7:30 pm
Roundhouse
Price
Full Price: £15
Concessions & 15-25: £ 10
+ Pay What You Decide at Community Venues
Content Guidance
Strong Language, Climate Anxiety, Displacement, Illness
Covid-19 Guidance
Elizabeth Ayodele Actor
Elizabeth’s journey to Lavisha was nothing short of fate having had the opportunity to work with director Stef only once before drama school and now again 3 years later. She trained at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and graduated this summer. She was also part of the first ever cohort of Open Door. Credits while training include: Antigone, Ophelia and Mrs Lovett. Other credits include: ME YOU US THEM (Terra Nova productions) and Colour inside the lines (National Theatre Learning). She is grateful to God, family, friends and all the people along the way who believed in her ability.
IG: @elxza.dele
Nessah Muthy is a multi-award-winning, two times Writer’s Guild-nominated, writer for stage and screen.
Nessah is currently under commission to: the Actors Touring Company (ATC), National Youth Theatre(NYT), Fuel, Boundless Theatre, Kiln Theatre, Almeida Theatre and English Touring Theatre (ETT)
She has worked with a number of leading theatres and companies including: the Young Vic (Tapestry), Donmar Warehouse (Monuments), Punchdrunk, the National Youth Theatre, (The Host) Cardboard Citizens, HighTide, (Heroine) Kali Theatre, (Sundowning) Theatre Centre, Iris Theatre, Cloakroom Theatre/the King’s Head Theatre and the Gate Theatre / Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, (After Rhinoceros: The Red Pill).
After a critically-acclaimed, sell-out run in London, Nessah’s immersive play for young people,Small Wonders, (co-created with Punchdrunk) transferred to Imaginate’s Edinburgh International Children’s Festival in May 2019. It received five star reviews and was subsequently nominated in the Best Play for Young Audiences categoryat the Writers’ Guild Awards 2020.
For screen, Nessah has written for On The Edge Series III (BlackLightTelevision / Channel 4) and her script will shoot in 2021.She currently has four television series ideas in development with Firebird Pictures, The Forge, Hera Picturesand BlackLight Television / Channel 4.
Nessah is also a member of the Coronation Street writing team, is working on COBRA for Sky One / New Pictures and taking part in the KAOS / Netflix / Sister Pictures Shadow Writers Scheme led by Charlie Covell.Awards include: Character 7 Prize 2017 and the Adrian Pagan Award 2018.
Stef is an award winning theatre director and storymaker. She was previously the Artistic Director of nabokov, the Associate Director at Paines Plough and the Lyric Hammersmith.
Accolades include WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK by Sabrina Mahfouz being the first radio play to be broadcast on BBC 1Xtra winning Best Radio production at the BBC Radio and Music Awards 2019.
Stef’s work often exists in a range of environments including music venues, festivals, theatres, community centres, pubs, clubs, parks, anywhere. – creating spaces where you can have a good time and share our stories together. Her work often pushes the boundaries of gigs and theatre performances working with spoken word artists and musicians including Kae Tempest, Bellatrix, Benin City, Paul Cree, Dizraeli, Cecilia Knapp, Sabrina Mahfouz, Deanna Rodger and Grace Savage creating inclusive experiences with a narrative at the heart of it.
She has worked extensively as a dramaturg and director with some of the UK’s exceptional writers including Nathan Bryon, Omar El-Khairy, Sophie Ellerby, Shereen Jasmin-Phillips, Daf James, Yasmin Joseph, Simon Longman, Vinay Patel and Monsay Whitney. Stef supports people to create and share stories with the belief that by sharing narratives we create a space to understand each other and ourselves more, to cultivate empathy, to connect, to challenge the status quo.
Directing credits include:
A HISTORY OF WATER IN THE MIDDLE EAST| Sabrina Mahfouz (Royal Court Theatre)
INSIDE THIS BOX | Yasmin Joseph (Clean Break)
LIT Sophie Ellerby (Nottingham Playhouse/ Hightide)
BOX CLEVER Monsay Whitney (The Bunker)
YARD GAL | Rebecca Prichard (Ovalhouse) * winner Fringe Report Awards for Best Fringe Production 2009
For Paines Plough:
ON THE OTHER HAND WE’RE HAPPY Daf James | DAUGHTERHOOD Charley Miles | DEXTER AND WINTER’S DETECTIVE AGENCY by Nathan Bryon (Paines Plough /Theatre Clwyd 2019 Roundabout Season)
ISLAND TOWN Simon Longman | STICKS AND STONES Vinay Patel | HOW TO SPOT AN ALIEN Georgia Christou (Paines Plough Theatre Clwyd 2018 Roundabout Season)
WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK by Sabrina Mahfouz, HOPELESSLY DEVOTED by Kae Tempest
For the Lyric, as Co Director: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, as Associate Director: MOGADISHU (Manchester Royal Exchange), as Assistant Director: BLASTED – winner Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre 2011.
For nabokov: LAST NIGHT by Benin City (Roundhouse), STORYTELLING ARMY (Brighton Festival) and SLUG by Sabrina Mahfouz (Latitude)
Hayley has extensive experience working as a dancer for physical theatre, dance and opera companies, including Highly Sprung, Folk Dance Remixed, Garsington Opera, Opera North and the Royal Opera House, where she was part of ‘Hyphen’ the first hyper reality opera of its kind which was choreographed by Anna Morrissey. Other Choreographers Hayley has worked with include, Rosie Whitney-Fish, Taira Foo and Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster.
Hayley is a rehearsal director and performer for The Natashas Project, an international physical theatre charity. Its aim is to use dance to inform and equip the public about Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery. The company performs to theatres, schools and community spaces to raise awareness and start conversations about the issue and supports survivors through creative means by providing restorative workshops at safe houses across London and the UK.
As a Movement director working alongside Stef O’Driscoll as director, Hayley has worked on ‘Roundabout’ by Paines Plough Theatre, ‘LIT’ at Nottingham Playhouse both for theatre and film adaptations of the show and ‘Inside this box’ for CleanBreak, a women’s theatre company tackling the complex theme of women and crime, working in prisons and in the wider community. Most recently Hayley has worked with the third years at Guildhall on their production of Julius Caesar. Hayley continues to teach dance and movement classes for performing arts colleges across London and for beginners within her local community.
Daze Aghaji is an inspiring Youth Climate Justice Activist based in London. With a focus on Regenerative Cultures, Radical Social Justice, Youth Politics, and Artistic innovation, she is a powerful voice for radical systemic change. Her tireless advocacy has earned recognition from leading charities, institutions, governments, and grassroots change-makers globally. The Guardian fittingly describes her as “a ball of energy, conviction, and warmth.”
Daze is best known for her high-profile political campaigning, which has seen her successfully sue her government, run for election, and lobby institutions for meaningful change. In 2019, she became the youngest candidate ever to stand in a European Parliamentary election. Running as an independent under the banner of a Climate and Ecological Emergency, she helped raise awareness of the urgent need for political will to address the climate crisis.
In 2020, Daze’s efforts to support young people struggling with eco-anxiety led her to lobby the Royal College of Psychiatrists to recognize this issue. She conducted research and developed tools to help those affected by it. Additionally, she initiated a successful Judicial review against the UK government, compelling them to release a Net-Zero Strategy ahead of COP26. As a founding member of Extinction Rebellion’s youth branch, Daze has been a driving force for climate justice. She previously served as the Director and Creative Director of Earthrise Studio, a creative agency dedicated to communicating the climate crisis.
Currently, Daze is an Artist in Residence at Phytology, the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve. She also works as an Artistic Environmental consultant at the Gate Theatre and serves as a Speaker and Climate Justice Consultant, collaborating with global corporations and governments. Her work is founded in a deep love, duty, and care for all life. Daze remains passionately committed to organizing with grassroots campaigns and organizations for climate justice.
“The only way we can avoid environmental collapse is by addressing all planetary boundaries. The only way we can do this is going back to our roots and falling back in love with our land.” – Daze Aghaji
