Cork, are you ready to rock and coal?

A climate change, hopepunk comedy show created by scientists, comedians, and you the audience is coming to Cork at the start of next month.

‘We Built This City on Rock and Coal’ brings scientists and theatre makers together for a co-created comedy show driven by hopepunk fiction, climate research, music, and what matters most to the local community. It is a show that is fun for audiences and good for the planet, based on the idea that every individual and their community can be part of a solution to climate change.

The show will be performed at the Centre of Excellence for Climate Action and Sustainability (CECAS), Myross Wood House, Leap, Co. Cork on 1 and 2 June. It will then be embarking on a nationwide tour of unique venues including everything from arts centres to ringforts, as well as visiting three islands off the coast of Ireland: Inishbofin, Arranmore, and Rathlin Island.

By bringing shows to rural centres like CECAS in West Cork, the project aims to prompt discussion and change around environmental topics while finding local positive steps towards solving climate change.

The project was co-created by award-winning science communicator and performer, Dr Jessamyn Fairfield of the University of Galway, and global improvisation practitioner and author, Katy Schutte. They will partner with Dr Gesche Kindermann, sustainability and conservation expert from the University of Galway, and storyteller Órla McGovern, among others.

Audience stories about climate change and climate action will also be collected and shared online as part of the Caomhnú citizen science initiative.

Reflecting the idea that caring for one’s local environment helps us to care for the planet as a whole, each event will also include sustainability workshops and citizen science activities.

Each live show holds space for audience members to speak up and/or be interviewed. These source materials are then used by international improvisation experts to inspire scenes, songs, and sketches that are unique to each show and community.

‘We Built This City on Rock and Coal’ is a recipient of the Creative Climate Action fund, an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme. It is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The fund supports creative, cultural, and artistic projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural transformations.

The project is also supported by iCRAG, the SFI Research Centre in Applied Geosciences hosted at University College Dublin, and the University of Galway.

More information including show dates and ticket links, visit webuiltthiscity.ie.