(Not) the End of the World (NHB Modern Plays)

A daringly theatrical investigation of the climate crisis through the perspectives of class, patriarchy and colonialism. Chris Bush's play (Not) the End of the World was first staged at the Schaubühne in Berlin in 2021, directed by Katie Mitchell. 'Staggering... Bush's remarkable text melds a ruthless structural concept with exquisite lyricism' - Guardian 'A play of endless permutations, interrogating the idea of choice and individual agency in the face of planetary crisis... Bush's fractal text, like a shattered sheet of ice, combines vivid passages about embracing the paths unchosen with a stark account of the consequences of vanishing marine life and rising temperatures. It is intentionally contradictory, at once putting the onus on the individual, while highlighting the need for change at a governmental level. It deftly captures these tensions, while articulating the mental tug of war underlining many of our decisions' - The Stage

Chris Bush is a playwright, lyricist and theatre-maker. Her plays include: Rock/Paper/Scissors (Sheffield Theatres, 2022); an adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, and New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme, 2022); (Not) the End of the World (Schaubühne, Berlin, 2021); Hungry (Paines Plough, 2021); Nine Lessons and Carols (Almeida Theatre, London, 2020); Faustus: That Damned Woman (Headlong, Lyric Hammersmith and Birmingham Rep, 2020); The Last Noël (Old Fire Station, Oxford, 2019); Standing at the Sky's Edge, a musical with music and lyrics by Richard Hawley (Sheffield Theatres, 2019, revived 2022 and at the National Theatre in 2023, West End 2024); The Changing Room (National Theatre Connections, 2018); Steel (Sheffield Theatres, 2018); an adaptation of Pericles (National Theatre, London, 2018); The Assassination of Katie Hopkins, written with Matt Winkworth (Theatr Clwyd, 2018); What We Wished For and A Dream.