The two-day Kyoto Conference (5 - 6 July) features creative and participatory events inspired by the messiness of agreement, negotiation and hope that collided at COP3 in Kyoto. The programme includes: 

• a film by award-winning visual artist Cornelia Parker 
• an interactive climate negotiation game by David Finnigan 
• specially commissioned performances by musician & activist Love Ssega 
• a panel discussion featuring Baroness Ashton and Stephen Kunken from the Kyoto cast. 
• and a People’s Assembly with artistic provocations. 

Public art 

Audiences can drop in to watch Cornelia Parker’s film The Future (Sixes and Sevens) which explores the response of Primary School children to their future, playing daily from 18 June – 13 July, and Ebrahim Nazier’s new public artwork, commissioned by the RSC, Somewhere / Nowhere (27 May – 18 October); a three-part installation exploring the past, present and how we work towards a more sustainable future. 

Bookable Conference events 

Interactive sessions across the two Conference days include Future for Beginners; a hands-on simulation game by writer and theatre-maker David Finnigan in which participants are challenged to ‘save the world from catastrophe in 80-minutes’. Set on a small island peninsula in the lead up to a major cultural festival, participants are invited to work together to negotiate challenges and make decisions in the face of a world changing climate shock.  

Inspired by the themes of Kyoto, The People’s Assembly offers a space for democratic discussion and debate, with provocations in the form of short dramatic readings from David Finnigan’s Scenes from a Climate Era. Featuring guest contributions from Lord Deben, former Environment Minister and Chairman of the UK Committee on Climate Change, The People’s Assembly explores the question; is there such a thing as a democratic way to disagree? And if we really listen to one another does agreement come quicker and easier? 

From Love Ssega, renowned artist, songwriter & producer, comes Assembled; live performances and interactive installations which explore the artistic and civic role of the ‘Town Crier’, asking us what public unity and assembly means to us, today. Love Ssega’s multi-disciplinary performance pieces have been commissioned by the Philharmonia Orchestra, the National Gallery, the Serpentine Pavilion and MoMA PS1 in New York with Slow Factory. 

A panel discussion will include contributions from Baroness Ashton and Stephen Kunken from the cast of Kyoto. Panellists will tease out the theme of reconciliation, negotiation and diplomacy in the context of our current 'golden age of disagreement'. Discussion will ask how deeply fragmented opinions can be reconciled, whether we find agreement more difficult to come by today and what we can learn from the miraculous moment when the world came together in Kyoto.

Gemma Stockwood, Kyoto Dramaturg and Creative Director of Conference said;  

‘Kyoto tells the story of a miraculous moment of agreement. From the earliest stages of developing the play, we had a vision for a creative and discursive space to sit alongside it to allow audiences to grapple with what the Kyoto Protocol says about the messiness and hope of agreement in our time now, a time that so often feels rife with fragmentation and polarisation - hence Conference was born! 

We are thrilled to give Kyoto audiences a chance to explore creatively how we find our way to understanding other people's perspectives, and maybe even shifting our own. We are delighted to be working with such a vibrant mix of artists, performers and experts on a thought provoking programme to inspire audiences - and hopefully help us all to take a step towards one another.’ 

Jacqui O’Hanlon, RSC Director of Creative Learning and Engagement said; ‘Theatre is a brilliant medium for igniting curiosity, debate and reflection. In our Creative Learning and Engagement work, we provide a creative space which can spark meaningful conversations about the issues that matter most to our audiences today.  

‘In collaboration with our co-producers at Good Chance, we look forward to audiences joining together to debate and reflect on a range of different perspectives, some of which may challenge their own world views, in an effort to better understand one another and work towards a more hopeful future.’ 

For additional information and to book, visit rsc.org.uk/kyoto/kyoto-conference  

Premiering in the Swan Theatre from 18 June – 13 July 2024 with Press Night on Tuesday 25 June, Kyoto reunites the creative team behind the multi award-winning hit The Jungle; which began life in the refugee camps of Calais in 2015 and went on to become a sell-out hit in the UK and internationally. Written by Good Chance co-founders, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson and directed by Stephen Daldry (Stranger Things The First Shadow, Billy Elliot, The Inheritance) and Justin Martin (Stranger Things The First Shadow, Prima Facie), this breathless and gripping tale recounts the fateful hours of tense negotiation which led up to the historic signing of the UN’s landmark climate conference in December 1997. 

A limited number of ‘In Conference’ seats are available for every performance of Kyoto, giving audience members the opportunity to become delegates within the play. Audiences who book to sit here may be asked to participate in some interactions with performers and may at times be asked to temporarily move from their seat. 

For further information and to book tickets, visit https://www.rsc.org.uk/kyoto