'"Schism" is a theatre piece for solo performer, initially written for and presented as part of La Mama's Explorations Season in 2010. It is a premonitory work, illuminating the broad impacts of environmental crises, through the eyes of a pair of 'disconnected' twins.
A collaborative work created by two sisters, writer Melanie Bainbridge, and theatre-maker/performer Pippa Bainbridge, "Schism" is a psychological thriller documenting the binary opposition that dwells within our individual and collective conscience, an exploration of the psychological impact that a damaged environment can have on its people and the degree of disconnection and perverse reaction this can inspire.
"Schism" combines text, music and film in equal measure, integrating live performance, real time audio and visual processing, as well as recorded voice, sound and image to create a piece of theatre that offers a voyeuristic depiction of the physical and emotional decline of its characters, mirroring an environment in decay.
"Schism" also explores the concept of professional isolation, and the pressure that scientific responsibility, in a culture of denial and fear, might have on those most invested in the work and the impacts that a shift in the 'thinking' on climate change might have in the way scientists view the appropriate tools for redressing the crisis. In a world inexorably altered by compulsive consumption and disconnection from the environment, "Schism" explores personal and cultural psychological vulnerability as a response to a culture of ignorance and misinformation. Source: http://www.pozible.com/ (Sighted 14/02/2012).
