England-2011-greenland

Greenland at the National Theatre, Friday 11 February 2011

Travel

We'll meet at the National Theatre at 18:00 on Friday, just outside the doors on the North side of the building near the South bank of the Thames. I'm planning on bringing dinner (bread, cheese, fruit, salami, etc.) for us to eat in the public areas inside the theatre.

The front of the National, doors marked

Where we'll eat, just inside either of the main doors pictured to the left

If you get there early there is plenty to do in the immediate vicinity, a nice skate park, used book vendors, park benches with a nice view of the Thames, etc.

Preparation

1. Read a bit about the play Greenland. The National Theatre's website has background information about it and the playwrights who wrote it. The play was commissioned by the National and follows in a long line of works dating back to the early 1980s that seek to address the big questions/problems facing society as a result of technology and the changes it brings.

• The play's homepage

2. Listen to the This American Life segment called Climate Changes, People Don't. The details are on the assignments page.

Plan

After the play there will be opportunity for us to participate in a discussion about the play:

After each performance of Greenland , there will be the chance to discuss and debate the complex issues raised in the play by sitting at the ‘Talkaoke’ table. Talkaoke, presented by ‘The People Speak’, is a unique interactive discussion format for sharing views, engaging with a variety of different perspectives and debating with other members of the audience.

More information is available at http://talkaoke.com

Blogger and Photographer

We will need two volunteers from the studio audience to take pictures and write-up/post a blog entry about this excursion. Get in touch if you are interested.

Science, Technology and Society

See the assignments page for the This American Life segment to listen to beforehand and a description of the write-up that's due afterwords.