Wild Things: Using improvised comedy to explore biodiversity conservation
We're in the midst of a biodiversity crisis. What could possibly be funny about that?
Wild Things is an hour-long improvised comedy play about an endangered species generated by three audience prompts: adjective + body part + animal (e.g. “fluffy-nosed starfish”). In the show, characters representing conservation stakeholders negotiate their varied relationships to this species and agree on a plan to bring it back from the brink after a natural disaster. Our project uses live performance and humour to engage people, stimulate discussion and inspire those who previously had little interest in conservation. In the summer of 2023, we took the show for a six-day run at the Edinburgh Fringe hosted by Greenside Venues, following two work-in-progress shows at the Canal Café Theatre in London. In total, we performed to 219 audience members and received highly positive feedback as well as a review stating our “green-garbed ensemble, live music & dynamic lighting are fully in-sync” (FringeBiscuit). Through the process of developing the show, performers' self-described interest in conservation increased by 42% and their self described knowledge of conservation increased by 25% (none of these performers were conservation scientists). Wild Things was directed by conservation scientist and comedian Dr. Sofia Castelló y Tickell, with the show format being co-developed and performed with members of London-based comedy troupe Just Improv, including assistant director Matthew Kemp and producer Emma Hinnells. Impact evaluation research was planned and executed by SCT and Dr. Diogo Verissimo at the University of Oxford. While the results of our impact evaluation are pending, audience feedback was highly positive and we developed novel approaches to measure changes in environmental attitudes and actions for environmentally themed shows.
The feedback we had from our previous 2020 run in Oxford was very positive, with an average rating of 4.8/5 across five performance nights and 84% of audience members stating they learned about conservation through the show. The Oxford Scientist called Wild Things “hilarious yet poignant” and Daily Info described it as “gently pitched to soothe a brain frazzled by climate change and ecological collapse”. The project has been accepted as a case study for the Routledge Companion to Performance and Science, and was recently featured in a webinar by the Society of Conservation Biology and Current Conservation. SCT also presented it at the International Congress for Conservation Biology in Kigali, Rwanda in July 2023. We were also excitingly featured in a bespoke TikTok rap about conservation by Baby Wants Candy! |
“I learnt a lot from Sofia and Emma about the power of humour in helping people engage with conservation. It was also super interesting how many people came up to us to chat about conservation while flyering in the streets.” Wild Things 2023 cast and crew: Emma Hinnells, Matthew Kemp, Eliza McHugh, Charlie Blake, Vidy Reddy, Blake Rayment, Kat Cooper, Hannah Williams.
Enormous thanks to our funders, the British Ecological Society as well as the Lockey Fund and Knowledge Exchange Seed Fund at the University of Oxford, for supporting the project! |