Mouthful offers a unique theatrical collaboration: it is written by six highly esteemed playwrights alongside six world-renowned scientists. These two worlds are clashing together to create a play, made up of six short stories, centred on the global food crisis. Opening at the Trafalgar Studios on Thursday 10 September, I caught up with director Poppy Burton-Morgan prior to the week run of previews.

“We can’t solve the global food crisis with a play, but what we can do is make people aware that we need to change.” Burton-Morgan’s opening statement seems to fully encapsulate her directive intention of Mouthful. She is clear that a didactic approach to the problem of the world food crisis is not in her interest. Instead “it is more about the provocation of it”. For those unaware of the issue this play tackles, just think about this: the world needs to produce at least 50% more food to feed 9 billion people by 2050. Currently, one-third of all child deaths globally are attributed to under-nutrition.

The way things are going, it is the younger generation who will be left with the consequences – that is, us. This is something Burton-Morgan is only too aware of, and performing it at Trafalgar Studios brings in this younger audience. “We’re not really trying to reach an already politically engaged audience. Those audiences that are already politically engaged already know how their food consumption patterns effect what. It’s really exciting to be taking it to a place where people are seeing genuinely new information”.

With six different writers, the play provides a huge breadth of insight to the world food crisis. Whilst all writers had the same brief of four actors and a table and chair, they each went off on variably different tangents. Two stories explore the future, and what the world will be like if we do not make necessary changes, and a few of the stories happen in the very concrete, real and current reality. As well as being set throughout different periods of time, they are also scattered through different time zones: from Nigeria, to Columbia, to Tunisia.

This all serves to make the global theme more prominent and universal. Each country is inextricably linked by the potential or current devastation of the global food crisis. “You might be watching it in London but you can see how this affects Columbia, and how that affects Tunisia” Burton-Morgan says. Rather than presenting the audience with a fact file, the play is made up of human stories. “It’s a series of human dramas that happen to tackle this global issue, and I think that’s what will stay with people. The facts don’t lodge in your heart, but the characters do.”

It is not just the play that has a global element. Between them, the writers and scientists are spread across four different continents. Through skype meetings, phone calls and email exchanges they have built up virtual relationships to support each other in the process. One thing is for sure, no-one can critique this play for inaccuracies. Whilst some scientists provided reading material and facts for their writer, for others it became a collaborative partnership, with the conceptual ideas the scientists were exploring sparking ideas for the writers.

Combining the worlds of science and theatre creates an audience with mixed interests. Burton-Morgan explains how she sees two distinct audiences: the theatre audience who will come to see a show and critique the writing, acting and theatrical quality; and the science audience who are engaged in the scientific and political issue. Is she apprehensive of the non-theatre going audience? It seems instead, she’s more wary of the theatrical community, and their tendency to dismiss the short play form for ‘not going deep enough’. But Burton-Morgan rebukes this claim, saying:
“What you get with six stories is the opportunity to go into real depth in a short amount of time; so you can get into the nitty gritty of the ideas and themes around it much more quickly. It’s a really effective way of getting into depth and breadth.”

Whilst inspired by the serious reality of the global food crisis, Mouthful is surprisingly comical and is sure to offer an entertaining yet enlightening evening of viewing. Burton-Morgan uses an analogy to describe the experience of the play. “It’s like going to a restaurant and getting to try lots of things, rather than sitting down to your meat and two veg, which might be your traditional two act play”. To me, it seems seeing this play is not a choice, but a necessity. As the next generation we have a responsibility to enlighten ourselves on this issue, and what better way to do so than through theatre?

‘Mouthful’ is playing at the Trafalgar Studios until 3 October.

Find out more about the global world food crisis.

Image credit: Richard Davenport