Skip to main content Skip to footer site map
Edinburgh 2022: Review: STOP THE WORLD, WE'RE GETTING OFF, theSpace

Edinburgh 2022: Review: STOP THE WORLD, WE'RE GETTING OFF, theSpace

After the Edinburgh Fringe, the eco-focused play tours the UK

Edinburgh 2022: Review: STOP THE WORLD, WE'RE GETTING OFF, theSpace Imagine a distant future where the climate crisis has fully taken hold in the UK and the last remaining humans can be found in a bunker below Clapham South tube station. Mirroring the refuge the location provided during the Second World War, Stop the World, We're Getting Off by Georgie Cunningham provides a glimpse of a potential future for humankind.

Five people won the so-called "golden ticket" for a spot in the bunker: we learn more about Roarke, a frustrated politician, played by Tom McGeough, and his daughter Ava (also performed by Cunningham), who has never known life outside of the bunker.

Kimmy, the mother figure of the clan, is endearingly played by Kate-Elizabeth Carey and Adam Gannon plays Cayden, a skilled handyman with hopes and dreams of a future beyond their current existence. He forms a sweet relationship with Ava.

Joseph Barber-Roberts plays the suitably burnt-out and ambivalent Alden, a former NASA scientist, although the likelihood of him wearing a white lab coat at this stage of the quarantine is highly unlikely. Other cast members who appear in pre-recorded footage documenting the collapse of society are also credited in the programme.

The rest of the cast are dressed in hues of green (costumes also by Carey), in line with the credentials of their piece. Some details such as the inclusion of other dystopian novels like Kazuo Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" piled up on the table are a nice touch, but it would have been nice to see the "scientist" of the group writing some actual words and equations on a whiteboard instead of just wiggly lines.

It wasn't entirely clear who this show was for; while there is a glimpse of hope of new life and ingenuity in times of crisis, the vast majority of the show dwells in pessimistic "climate doom", which will likely discourage many of those already involved in climate activism, and hardly win over those who are yet to join the cause.

Cunningham's script paints a picture of the tenderness and tensions of the group in such close proximity with each other, although more could have been made of the pre-recorded news clips or otherwise to minimise the amount of exposition in the early scenes, to get the audience up to speed.

The ending was a little predictable but Daniel Vernon's direction ensures a building of tension as the fate of the ensemble becomes unknown and certainly makes for a gripping final sequence - and, while the mirrored ending nicely bookended the show, it could have potentially been more impactful ending the piece one scene earlier.

Tenderfoot Theatre describe themselves as a young, queer, and female-led eco-theatre company and they share at the end of the show that their planet-conscious practices minimise the impact of the shows they produce, from second-hand costumes to upcycled set pieces made from Edinburgh Fringe flyers - an admirable manifesto.

Dystopian, and enthusiastically delivered, Stop the World, We're Getting Off may well be a sign of things to come, I certainly hope that won't be the case.

Stop the Word, We're Getting Off at Venue 45 @ theSpace during the Edinburgh Fringe and continues on tour



Related Stories
EDINBURGH 2022: Review: MARC JENNINGS: ORIGINAL SOUND, Monkey Barrel Photo
Scottish Comedian of the Year winner, viral video star and regular panellist on BBC Scotland's Breaking the News, Marc Jennings returns to the Fringe following his sold-out debut in 2019. In this new show Marc tackles the topics dominating our cultural conversation today, shares his experience of an ill-fated lockdown relationship and discusses the difficulties of modern dating.

EDINBURGH 2022: Review: FILLS MONKEY: WE WILL DRUM YOU, Pleasance Courtyard Photo
A worldwide sensation from Montreal to Beijing, Fills Monkey return with an exhilarating new show. Blending pure joy and comedy with extraordinary musicianship, these two exceptional drummers fuse musical styles from rock to heavy metal, and Latin to jazz. Creating percussive heaven they also play tribute to their favourite artists: AC/DC, Metallica, The Rolling Stones, U2, Phil Collins and more. Their drumsticks are magic and their irresistible beats go straight to the heart! A fun-packed experience to delight the whole family.

EDINBURGH 2022: Review: MADE IN INDIA/BRITAIN, Pleasance Courtyard Photo
Since leaving home in Birmingham, Rinkoo Barpaga has been determined to find somewhere to settle. Along the way he's encountered racism, discrimination and has begun asking himself: 'Where do I belong?' Join him as he delves deep into past experiences in order to discover his true self and a place he can finally call home.

EDINBURGH 2022: Review: GHOSTS OF THE NEAR FUTURE, Summerhall Photo
In Vegas, a magician performs a final disappearing act. The end of the world is a magic trick – are you watching closely? Ghosts of the Near Future is a cowboy-noir fever dream about extinction. Colliding music, storytelling and live micro-cinema, it is a hallucinatory road-trip through a vanishing landscape, a haunting collage of miracles and misdirection. It takes us to the brink of disaster and asks whether we’re ready for what comes next. At high noon, emma + pj present a final encore for a world living one minute to midnight.


From This Author - Fiona Scott

Fiona works towards her medicinal chemistry PhD by day but can usually be found in a theatre at night. She enjoys writing about science, musicals and more!

... (read more about this author)

Review: A MOTHER'S SONG, Macrobert Arts CentreReview: A MOTHER'S SONG, Macrobert Arts Centre
February 25, 2023

What did our critic think of A MOTHER'S SONG at Macrobert Arts Centre?

Review: PETER PAN AND WENDY, Pitlochry Festival TheatreReview: PETER PAN AND WENDY, Pitlochry Festival Theatre
December 1, 2022

What did our critic think of PETER PAN AND WENDY at Pitlochry Festival Theatre?

Review: SISTER ACT, King's Theatre, GlasgowReview: SISTER ACT, King's Theatre, Glasgow
November 16, 2022

What did our critic think of SISTER ACT at King's Theatre, Glasgow?

Review: JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, Edinburgh PlayhouseReview: JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, Edinburgh Playhouse
October 26, 2022

Way, way back, what back feels like, many centuries ago, an all-singing, all-dancing revival of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, directed by Laurence Connor, opened at the London Palladium in the summer of 2019.

Review: DREAMGIRLS, King's Theatre, GlasgowReview: DREAMGIRLS, King's Theatre, Glasgow
October 12, 2022

What did our critic think of DREAMGIRLS at King's Theatre, Glasgow?