EDINBURGH 2021: Review: AFLOAT, Summerhall Online

Afloat is a piece of digital theatre written by Eva O'Connor and Hildegard Ryan and directed by Anna Simpson. Set in a post-apocalyptic landscape, the childhood best friends are the lone survivors of a climate catastrophe as the rest of Dublin is submerged underwater.

Although the play was written before the pandemic there are a lot of parallels being drawn with Bláthnaid (played by O'Connor) and Debs (Annette O'Shea) living isolated together on the top floor of the Liberty Tower.

As with all of the Summerhall Online content I have viewed so far, this digital production is of the highest quality. While the film focuses mainly on Bláthnaid and Debs in their flat, it also features Michael-David McKernan giving presentations on the climate change crisis and warnings about the huge impact that just one degree of temperature change can have. The switch between personal anecdotes and the facts of climate change is smooth and very effective in making the information easy to relate to.

The friends discuss the Dublin they used to know. Through rose-tinted glasses they talk about the night-life and rich culture of the city- before pausing to consider recent changes, the city being overtaken by Air BnB landlords and Dubliner's no longer being able to afford to live there. They start to question personal choices and whether there was anything they could have done to prevent this crisis.

Afloat is a captivating play that looks at the effects of climate change and gentrification in a very accessible and relatable way.

Afloat is available on demand at Summerhall Online from 6 August.