Ten sixth-formers headed to the West End to see a dark comedy set at the time of the UN’s landmark climate conference at which the Kyoto Protocol was adopted.
They returned to the School full of praise for what they had watched, with several declaring themselves more motivated to play their own part in combatting climate change.
Accompanied by Deputy Head (Academic) and Geography teacher Anne Macdonald, they went to see Kyoto at @sohoplace – a theatre opened in 2022 as part of the Crossrail project.
Written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, the play is set in the Kyoto Conference Centre on 11th December 1997, with the world’s nations in deadlock, 11 hours past the time when the conference should have ended. With time running out and an agreement still seeming a remote prospect, the greatest obstacle is Washington lawyer and oil lobbyist, Don Pearlman.
Produced and acted by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Good Chance, the play was performed to great acclaim at the Swan Theatre last year before moving to @sohoplace in 2025.
It is not the first encounter by QE pupils with the work of Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson: the pair’s earlier play, The Jungle, which is about the unofficial camp for migrants and refugees in Calais, was the School Play in 2023.
Afterwards, Mrs Macdonald gathered the reflections of nine of the boys on the play.
Year 12
Simi Bloom: “Seeing Kyoto was a fantastic experience; watching a comic yet thought-provoking political thriller was a first for me but it did not disappoint. Every actor was extremely compelling – in particular, the delegate for Kiribati [actor Andrea Gatchalian] gave a sensational performance – and the ending has given me a lot of thought as to how I can do my part…[on] climate change.”
Felix Calder: “The performance was absolutely stellar. This play really helped me understand why diplomacy is fundamentally such a nightmare, and gave me a much broader understanding of the climate crisis. I’d love to see something like this performed at QE.”
Shailen Patel: “An amazing performance that was engaging and thrilling throughout. I left with a new hope and sense of urgency to make change on the world around us.”
Riyan Siyani: “The play was really good at highlighting just how much chaos and disruption the major oil companies caused in the progression of the world’s journey to a sustainable future, all for the purpose of increasing their own profits.”
Year 13
Andreas Angelopoulos: “Seeing the tension between economic interests and environmental responsibility portrayed so powerfully made me reflect on my future career path and how I can contribute to a more sustainable world.”
Ken Kajar: “The actors did an excellent job capturing the tensions between nations, highlighting why progress felt so slow. The endless bureaucracy engineered by the Seven Sisters [seven large oil companies] was a stark reminder of the power large corporations play through lobbying, and yet despite this, I felt moved by the performance to do more to reduce my carbon footprint.”
Saim Khan: “Whether it was the charming, suave demeanour of COP* Chairman Raul Estrada or the hard-headed and self-assured diplomacy of [former UK Deputy Prime Minister] John Prescott, the negotiations were brought to life in a truly spectacular way.”
Nikhil Mark: “The play was intensely interesting, full of humour but more importantly revelations about the true world of superpower negotiation and ugly truth about the response of the world to the growing climate crisis. I especially enjoyed its informative value and the crude but hilarious comments from Don Pearlman, a staunch climate change denier.”
Chanakya Seetharam: “I found the selection of Don Pearlman to be the most ingenious feature of the play. Pearlman’s mordant and deeply cynical narration offered a terrifying picture of the slow pace and frequent ineffectiveness of international climate negotiations. Particularly terrifying was his reminder at the end of the play that anyone who had driven a car or taken a flight had ‘paid [his] wages’. After a play which had largely highlighted the shortcomings of the international system, I think this ending, with its recognition of our collective complicity, was deeply important. I found Kyoto a brilliant piece of theatre and one which left me with all sorts of questions.”
*Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The 25 boys arrived in the city having studied the Cold War and being close to completing their studies on the Nazi era.
“There is something powerful about physically seeing the layers of history in a city that has seen incredibly difficult times, and understanding how it is now looking to remember the past while looking ahead to the future.
The 190 Year 9 boys saw Hollywood A-lister Sigourney Weaver starring in The Tempest at the Theatre Royal, Old Drury Lane.
“Working with our colleagues at Henrietta Barnett allowed us to put on a brilliant day and a half of activities. From a standing start, students became fully acquainted with the characters and themes of the under-appreciated Richard II. It was a treat to see students fully engaging in the dramatic activities, and speaking so knowledgeably about the Bridge Theatre performance.”
The two-day Sixth Form event centred around the production of Richard II at the Bridge Theatre production, which starred Jonathan Bailey, of Bridgerton and Wicked fame. In addition to seeing the production, the event involved:
His light-hearted attempt to flee – an action which could once have resulted in him being shot – came part-way through the busy trip, during which the group of senior pupils focused on Berlin’s history over the past 100 years or more.
Visiting the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Jewish Museum
The groups formed from those staying in each room at the hotel had to deliver a presentation in German about a cultural highlight. Pictured is one group delivering theirs on a visit to the Treptower Park, a popular spot with Berliners, which houses the Soviet War Memorial. Each room also prepared a round for the party’s quiz night.
