Performance at the Dutch National Opera and Ballet in Amsterdam

The concept grew out of an investigation concerning a current lawsuit, set into motion by the independent environmental organisation Milieudefensie, against the Dutch fuelling company Shell for opposing the terms of the Paris Agreement.1 However the court case will proceed, the performance reflects on either outcome – radical change must be initiated within the individual. This transformation occurs beyond time, beyond place. Lead by industrial and spiritual musicality, the character on stage moves from unconscious- to consciousness, willing to accept their liability to bear damage that has been done. If the absence of responsibility is a collective traumatic event, could a sense of environmental stewardship turn apathy into action? In order for this transition, one must first awaken to face the accountability we have as individuals to initiate change.

Annamaria, Evita, and Ryan met with Bruno Lauteslager, Youth Organizer at Milieudefensie, to learn more about the lawsuit against Shell. Sitting in the sunshine outside of the Milieudefensie office, Bruno began to explain how Shell stands in the way of change. Shell has the solution, but they are not doing anything about it. Significant focus in our current moment places the onus on the individual to stop climate change through more ethical consumption. Yet, Bruno’s utopia looks like this: a world where friends and family don’t have to worry so much about what they’re buying, a world where governmental regulations are forcing the big polluters to make the big change. Winning the legal action against Shell is a hopeful first step into this utopia.

We learned how Bruno and his coworkers often share the positivity of Milieudefensie’s mission, focusing more on the hopefulness of being part of groups and not being alone with your emotions about climate change or being consumed by guilt. Still, is there a lingering tension from working in environmental activism while knowing you eat meat or commute by train instead of bike every day? Is an institution a collection of individuals at the end of the day, each of whom have their own responsibility in the big change? Following the call to diagnose a collective trauma, our artistic direction leaned into these questions about the communication of responsibility, seeking a third space between positivity and negativity, as well as between the individual and the institution.