Exhilarating Productions Of ‘Kyoto’ And ‘Oedipus’ Open In London

Andrea Gatchalian as Kiribati, Duncan Wisbey as Fred Singer, and the company of Kyoto. Photo by Manuel Harlan

Kyoto

Kyoto at Soho Place is probably the most engaging, electric, urgent piece of theatre I’ve ever witnessed. Written by Good Chance co-founders Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin and performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Kyoto wowed audiences at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon before transferring to the West End for a limited run. Kyoto is one of 17 productions announced as part of Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey’s inaugural programme as RSC Co-Artistic Directors and their first co-production with Good Chance.

This exhilarating play tells the true story of the many hours of tense negotiations preceding the historic signing of the UN’s landmark 1997 climate conference in Kyoto (known as COP 3) which set legally binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Told from the point of view of Don Pearlman, a Republican lawyer turned oil lobbyist who served in the energy department of President Reagan’s presidency, Kyoto is a blistering rollercoaster ride through a series of meetings between nations kicking off with COP 1 and ending in Kyoto.

Writers Murphy and Robertson explained to me what attracted them to the story in the first place: “ The story of how the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated and brought into existence demonstrated to us the importance of tenacity, of compromise, and of placing emphasis on shared goals rather than esoteric differences which will always exist. In a society that values individualism so highly, the process of negotiation can feel like a threat, so we wanted to dramatise the raw emotion, excitement and jeopardy of those multilateral processes, and how negotiation reveals different arguments and ideas that we might never come across when we stick to own protected bubbles.”

Dale Rapley as Bolin, Andrea Gatchalian as Kiribati, and the company of Kyoto. Photo by Manuel Harlan

The COP negotiations were led by a motley crew of international diplomats, scientists, politicians and activists who–after years of negotiations–eventually overcame cultural and political differences to agree that climate change was a reality and make the first steps towards slowing down its impact. Kyoto’s clever script includes many discussions between the COP delegates over the smallest yet most pivotal words in a sentence of the agreement, demonstrating how powerful and life-changing semantics are. During the COP negotiations, replacing the word ‘might’ with ‘would’ in the sentence “sea level rise would threaten survival” signified acceptance that climate change was a real issue.

Writers Murphy and Robertson told me that “The play was inspired by conversations with dozens of people who were there, including delegates, scientists, leaders and lawyers, as well as every book, article and essay about the process we could get our hands on, alongside film recordings and transcripts of the talks from the UN and other sources we stumbled upon along the way.”

December 2024 marked 27 years since the signing of the Kyoto agreement which took place on 11 December,1997. Kyoto is a politically charged thriller which invites audiences into the heart of the historic 1997 Kyoto climate summit. Watch the action unfold as big egos clash in a race to secure the world’s first legally binding emissions targets.

There couldn’t be a timelier production to stage right now, as the world teeters on the edge of an abyss of climate catastrophe. RSC Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey say: “Every so often, a play comes along that speaks passionately and urgently to the world in which we live. Kyoto is one of those plays.”

Staged in the beautiful new theatre Soho Place, the audience are greeted with COP delegate lanyards and invited into an intimate, electrically charged atmosphere with a circular central stage and surrounding seats in the round, with some audience members on the front row being integrated into the performance. When the play commences it goes off with a bang, as if someone has fired the starting gun at the beginning of a race, except this race is a race against time to acknowledge global warming and then take action to try and slow it down.

Oil lobbyist Don Pearlman is the play’s narrator. Played brilliantly by Tony award-nominated actor Stephen Kunken (The Handmaid’s Tale, Billions), Pearlman is a big advocate of the mythological American dream, which in his eyes means entitlement to drive around in a big, gas-guzzling car, freedom to use endless amounts of water, America first and ‘drill, baby drill’. Sounds familiar? Pearlman goes to the dark side and acts as a kind of puppet for the big oil companies who all had a vested interest in preventing a global climate change agreement.

Stephen Kunken as Don Pearlman and the company of Kyoto. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

The big oil companies are portrayed by the Seven Sisters, apocalyptic figures dressed in black who appear on stage intermittently to encourage Pearlman to lobby on their behalf. We follow Pearlman’s shady antics as he uses his wily ways and lawyer’s tricks to side with the Saudi representative (Raad Rawi) the USA representative (Nancy Crane) and China (Kwong Loke) to undermine the efforts of Argentina (Jorge Bosch) and Germany’s Angela Merkel (Kristin Atherton) and developing countries Kiribati and Tanzania to agree a pact that will reduce global carbon emissions.

Aïcha Kossoko as Tanzania, Kwong Loke as China, and Andrea Gatchalian as Kiribati in Kyoto. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Murphy and Robertson’s brilliant script is fast-paced and intelligent–on a par with the most acclaimed of Hollywood’s politically charged thrillers such as Succession or The West Wing–full of laugh out loud moments and monologues that pack a punch, along with highly emotional speeches that stimulate the tear ducts.

Standout moments apart from Kunken’s captivating performance are the emerging nations speech by the Kiribati representative (an emotionally charged monologue delivered by Andrea Gatchalian), a powerful speech by UK representative John Prescott (brilliantly played by Ferdy Roberts), Tanzania’s speech (powerfully projected by Aïcha Kossoko), commanding outbursts from a no-nonsense Angela Merkel (a role skilfully inhabited by Kristin Atherton) and some moments of pure comedy delivered by the Secreteriat (a comedic star turn by Jorge Bosch).

Stephen Kunken as Don Pearlman, Jorge Bosch as Raúl Estrada-Oyuela, and Jenna Augen as Shirley in Kyoto. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

While the ensemble cast and leading man all deliver tight, well-rehearsed performances brimming with energy and pace, unique production design by award-winning designer Miriam Buether, Natalie Pryce’s costumes, Aideen Malone’s lighting design and Akhila Krishnan’s video design all combine beautifully to create an immersive feel that transports the audience into the heart of the action.

Brilliant use of music by composer Paul Englishby combined with Christopher Reid’s sound Design results in the inclusion of a frenetic jazz soundtrack at times, with a drummer on stage at one point inducing an increased heart rate in the audience as negotiations rev up a pace and Kunken races through one of Pearlman’s urgent monologues.

Andrea Gatchalian as Kiribati and the company of Kyoto. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Co-Directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin say: “Kyoto tells the story of a miraculous moment of agreement in which the seemingly impossible, became a reality. From the crucible of Kyoto emerged something extraordinary; a landmark moment in the history of climate legislation, which paved the way for much of the environmental progress we have witnessed in our lifetime.”

Almost 30 years after the signing of the original Kyoto climate agreement in December 1997, Kyoto is a frightening tale with a core message of hope that a group of people from all over the world with very different vested interests, can overcome their differences for the greater good of humanity.

Kyoto is at Soho Place until 3rd May, 2025.

Oedipus

Take a Sophocles classic, add a techno beat, a youthful troupe of contemporary dancers and a Bond villain and you get Ella Hickson’s cutting edge reimagining of Oedipus. Co-directed by Hofesh Shechter and Matthew Warchus, the Old Vic’s new production of Oedipus offers a modern climate crisis adaptation of Sophocles’ 429 BC Greek tragedy.

Academy Award winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody, No Time To Die) and Olivier Award winner Indira Varma (Present Laughter, Game of Thrones) take the lead roles, with Malek playing the religious Oedipus to Varma’s rational Jocasta.

Rami Malek (Oedipus) and Indira Varma (Jocasta) in Oedipus at The Old Vic (2025). Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Oedipus tells the story of a mythical King of Thebes, who once solved the riddle of the Sphinx but is now ruling over a kingdom facing ruin through drought. As the people start to rise up and protest about the lack of water, Oedipus asks the Oracle how to save his kingdom. According to the Oracle, if the murderer of old King Laius is found and punished then Thebes will be saved. Oedipus, eager to fulfil the Oracle’s prophecy, embarks on a relentless and irrational pursuit of the truth, which turns out to be built on a web of lies and deceit.

Co-directed by outgoing Old Vic artistic director–the Olivier and Tony award winning Matthew Warchus–with choreographer Hofesh Shechter, the production integrates contemporary dance into the Greek tragedy. Dance takes centre stage with the Hofesh Schechter dance company playing an instrumental role as a dramatic theatrical device connecting one scene of dialogue to the next.

Dancers from the Hofesh Shechter Company in Oedipus at The Old Vic (2025). Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Rae Smith has designed a minimalist set and chosen a pared back wardrobe for the cast that has a timeless yet contemporary feel, such as Jocasta’s jewel-coloured dresses, Oedipus’s white suit and Creon’s Calvinist black robes. Tom Visser’s dramatic lighting, Chris Shutt’s stunning sound design and Hofesh Schechter’s bold choreography and music choice further heighten the drama of this visceral production.

The supporting cast all play pivotal roles–Nicholas Khan masters the domineering religious zealotry of Creon, Cecilia Noble gives a commanding performance as wise old Seer Tiresias, and Joseph Mydell is the blundering messenger from Corinth.

Cecilia Noble (Tiresias) in Oedipus at The Old Vic (2025). Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Indira Varma is poised and elegant as Jocasta, constantly questioning the authority of the Oracle and maintaining a rational, controlled stance while those around her turn into religious fanatics. Varma skilfully delivers some witty one-liners that offer some respite from the dramatic doom of the plot line. As everything unravels and Oedipus discovers he had unknowingly killed his Father and married his Mother, Malek’s performance becomes more visceral, his emotions rising to the surface as he delivers some of his Oscar-winning star quality on the West End stage.

Dramatic bursts of exhilarating dance bring the production to life, with the Hofesh Schechter Company performing a bold opening number after emerging from darkness and dancing to a pumping soundtrack before Oedipus appears. A joyful rain dance close to the denouement of the play when the drought finally subsides is a particular highlight, and after the encore the dancers reappear for one last drop the mic moment of primal dance.

Oedipus is at The Old Vic until to 29th March, 2025.