The woman is Melbourne-based Moira Finucane, the writer, performer, and creator of The Rapture, which will be performed in its United States premiere at Climakaze Miami 2017. In its third year,
Finucane is one-half of Australian theater company Finucane & Smith, known for creating “beyond genre” cabaret, theater, and variety performances, which they call “salons of humanity.” Finucane describes her
Finucane wasn’t always an avant-garde performer. Growing up, she was fascinated by the natural world and pored over fairy tales and the stories of saints. She studied environmental science, worked first in environmental law, then later in human rights in international gender and development. In the nineties, she began performing in Australia’s underground club scene. Finucane explains, “All of those concerns underpin the performance. My performance treasures humanity and the exquisite treasures of the world.”
Finucane says her work has an impact on agency, which provokes and compels people into taking action about critical issues. “When people think about climate change, it's easy to feel paralyzed, that it’s too late, or too big…Each one of us has the absolute right to talk about what is concerning us,” says Finucane.
The title of the work, The Rapture, refers to the idea of being transported to another place. Finucane says that art transports people and empowers them to take action. “Art has the power to take us out of the
Finucane’s background in environmental science informs her work. She sees climate change as symptomatic of other pressing human concerns. For Finucane and many others, climate change is not an isolated problem, and the
She emphasizes the role of responsibility for governments and corporations in the solution for climate change. “In order to have a planet that our children and grandchildren can live in with joy and happiness, there needs to be immense government intervention in the destruction of the environment for profit,” she says.
Given that Miami has been deemed ground zero for climate change, Finucane is aware and excited to share her work with the South Florida community. “Miami is well famous for being a melting pot of culture and ideas. This festival will be part of that urgent, vibrant, cultural discussion,” she says. “Miami is a place for firing ideas around… Climakaze is plugging critical issues into the main and turning on the switch. Whatever people take away from it, there’s electricity.”
The Rapture
Part of Climakaze 2017. 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, at Mid-Stage at Miami-Dade County Auditorium, 2901 W. Flagler St., Miami. Tickets cost $20 to $40 via ticketmaster.com. Visit climakazemiami.org.