Interview: David Suzuki of WHAT YOU WON'T DO FOR LOVE at Why Not Theatre

For more than five decades, David Suzuki has been a leading voice in environmental activism, educating audiences about science and the importance of protecting our planet. Best known for hosting The Nature of Things and co-founding the David Suzuki Foundation, Suzuki has spent much of his life encouraging people to think about the world we live in and the future we are leaving behind.

But behind his work is a partnership that has lasted more than 50 years with his wife, Tara Cullis, who has played a major role in their shared commitment to environmental activism.

In What You Won’t Do for Love, presented at the O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University, Suzuki and Cullis share their personal story and explore the connection between love, relationships, and caring for the planet. Through storytelling and personal experiences, the production looks at how the people we love can inspire us to take action and make a difference in our communities.

You and Tara Cullis have spent over 50 years together in life and environmental activism. How has your relationship shaped your work?

Tara has been a major force behind all of the work we’ve done with the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) and all that we’ve accomplished, and I love that we get to do this play because we get to tell Tara’s story. Often people know my work because of The Nature of Things, or other media that I am part of—they know my name and face. But Tara is the real brains of the operation, and I think we’ve been a good team over the years. She’s the one who started the DSF—she was able to identify a problem that many people were concerned about; the environmental crisis and find a way to provide people with solutions and ways to take action.

How can love inspire people to care more about the planet and take action?

Love is a powerful force. As any new parent knows, your relationship to your offspring creates an immediate and concrete relationship to the future. And you love that little baby more than anything in the world and would do anything to protect it. So, if we can tap into the power of that force of love; that takes action in the face of seemingly insurmountable problems, it might be the fuel we need to take the seismic action that is necessary to turn things around.

You’ve spent decades educating people about environmental issues. What can theatre teach audiences that science alone sometimes cannot?

I’ve been amazed by the response we’ve had to this play. We’ve toured it for four years now and the reaction is completely different to any TV show, or scientific lecture I’ve given. We’re in a much more direct, intimate contact with the audience, and we’re sharing real stories from our lives—not just facts and numbers. It really touches people in a much more profound way—because we’re not just speaking to people’s logical left-brain; it appeals to their right brain; where emotion and feeling live. And my hope is, if we can get people to feel, it may lead them to take action.

What do you hope people take away from What You Won’t Do for Love, especially those who feel overwhelmed by climate change?