A warm-up act that might get the audience turning green
Published in The Scotsman
29th August 2009
Climate change and comedy are not the easiest of bedfellows. Yet, this Fringe festival, 500 people paid to be entertained on the subject by Mark Watson at his Earth Summit. I was one of them. And it made me laugh.
The show, which ran for eight days as part of the Five Pound Fringe, is based on Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth - which is what got Mark interested in climate change in 2007. With no previous knowledge, the comedian says he “waded through the subject” by reading “unhelpfully specific” books. His attitude didn’t change overnight: “It took me a few months to come to terms with climate change and work out if it was something worth worrying about”, he explains.
Watson’s climate change awakening prompted him to include material in his comedy shows. After doing one such routine in Melbourne, he was encouraged by friends to apply to take Al Gore’s climate leadership course. He was one of the 150 people accepted, one of only a couple of comedians to receive personal training by Mr Gore to spread the message.
Mark was surprised by the charisma of the man who used to be “the next US president”: “He’s not at all like the wooden politician we saw before that fateful election” he says. “It’s like he has been freed from the weight of politics to do what he was meant to. He is a born leader, with a flair for motivating and inspiring”.
The effect Mr Gore had on Watson was remarkable, he says, and he wanted to put his comic abilities to the service of a bigger cause: “Climate change communication isn’t done justice” Watson says. “I have the ability to command a large audience. Strangers listen to what I say. I feel like I have a duty to the planet. Its like it was meant to be.”
Such evangelical talk comes as a surprise from such a level headed and easy going character. He describes his stock in trade as “Rambling, freewheeling, observational humour”, a style that perhaps makes the factual show a comic and educational success. The witty observations give a good contrast to the serious subject matter. The overall impression Mark gives is one of a sincere, self-deprecating teacher, telling jokes about his subject yet keeping the facts straight.
Mark’s Earth Summit presentation is a lot more entertaining than Mr Gore’s Nobel Prize winning version, offering a fast romp through climate science and how we are changing the environmental balance. “Where the hell is the snow on Kilimanjaro?” he asks. And on public interest in climate change, he rages: “75%, compared to 85% who voted on the X-factor”.
The show doesn’t drag, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Yet Mark has the breadth of knowledge to deliver an education and leave everyone with a message.
During proceedings, members of the audience are appointed as a depression monitor, to pipe up when things get too grim, and the science-phobe, who shouts when the facts get too dry and technical. Mark is doubtless pleased that both keep quiet.
Also on stage was scientifically-articulate Dan, who kept the audience on the straight and narrow by throwing in the odd factoid. For example: “Did you know that 80% of the worlds forests have been chopped down since 1900”.
After studying English, Mark’s original career aim was to be a writer. A series of ‘accidents’ led him to comedy.
He published two novels, which have been a moderate success, and more recently wrote “Crap for the environment”, which documents his growing eco-awareness.
He’s pleased that people have called and said the books piqued the interest, and adds: “It’s the same for my shows. If I can generate a bit of attention on the subject, I will feel like I have done something worthwhile.”
Watson does what he can to live a green lifestyle, especially since moving into his own flat. He has switched to green electricity and does not take domestic flights. He buys more locally sourced food, and is now more inclined to vote Green. But, in common with many frustrated eco-warriors, he feels that he has reached a plateau.
Whether the environment could ever take over from his more conventional comedy subjects may also take time. “It would be difficult to make a living from just green shows at the moment”, he said. But he is hopeful. “I am testing the format of the show this year. I hope to bring it to a bigger audience in Edinburgh next year. This is just a launch pad”.
The show will run at the Soho Theatre in London later this year, and has had interest from TV channel E4.
In the next year, the Scottish Government will start a public awareness campaign for its Climate Bill. No one knows quite what it will look like, but cannot be all doom and gloom and comedy could have a part to play. Mark’s website describes him as “pessimistic, but experimenting with optimism”. This could be a fitting summary for today’s environmental movement.