FREAK OUT!
The Social Issue
Coin Toss Collective presents FREAK OUT! - A production addressing Climate justice; adaptation & ''loss and damage''
FREAK OUT! tells the story of a seaside town losing its homes to coastal erosion, which is accelerating due to climate change. It draws on research into affected communities in East Anglia, UK.
The effects of climate change are already impacting the UK;
Over 35 homes have been lost to the waves in Happisburgh, Norfolk, in the last 20 years alone.
In Scotland, 19% of the coastline is vulnerable to erosion as sea levels rise.
By 2080, an estimated 1.5 million UK properties will be located in areas with an annual risk of flooding, with 100,000 exposed to coastal erosion.
In North America, a recent study by the US Geological Survey predicts that up to 75% of California's beaches could be completely eroded by the end of the century, with the city of Pacifica currently losing over 16 feet in land per year.
These stories rarely make the headlines, leaving people in affected regions feeling abandoned. Simultaneously, the UK and the US are also some of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, with the US being the highest and the UK being the fourth-highest emitter worldwide (including cumulative emissions under colonial rule).
This further transposes the conversation around loss & damage in the contexts outlined above into a global one & highlights the importance of advocating for timely adaptation
Creating Change in Society
Climate change is a global issue already manifesting locally, and just like in other places in the world, those at the forefront of it are already on society's periphery. Coin Toss Collective want to bring urgency to the conversation about climate change in the UK and advocate for more radical action.
Their show draws attention to the importance of advocating for climate justice on a local and national level. As a character of a local councillor in FREAK OUT! states: “People in this country talk about climate change as if it’s way off in the future but it’s here now, in our little town. Yes, we love this place, and we will keep fighting for it.”
FREAK OUT! also invites audience members to imagine themselves in the shoes of people currently experiencing climate change's catastrophic impacts & confronts them with the knowledge that soon, we all will be in the same shoes the residents of Portsford occupy, unless we get to work and demand change; an important point to make knowing that the demands of the audience members in the UK/US can have a tangible impact.
