We sat down with Janie to talk about her play Beautiful World Cabaret, a series of cabaret shows at Charing Cross Theatre in London.
What inspired you to fuse cabaret with climate activism, and how did that vision evolve from Song for Nature to the Beautiful World Cabarets?
It was at a time that I was spending many of my waking hours thinking about the planet, how I’m living on it and what I could do to make a real difference when the writer and legendary cabaret producer, Ruth Leon offered me some dates at the Pheasantry. Cabaret is a great medium to connect to an audience because there’s no fourth wall. The audience can speak back and often they do.! It’s a lot of fun and it seems to be effective.
Song for Nature is something I’m very very proud of . It was the most beautiful expression from some of the greatest artists we have and it was seen by hundreds of thousands of people on Sky Arts…
But did it make a difference?
I can say that the act of creating it made me focus on my own behaviour and change it. I think it was this question that propelled me to create a cabaret, to keep going , with humour (hopefully!) And insight and thrilling invention. Way back 5 years ago we began the London Climate Change festival, with the intention always being to inform inspire and bring hope. That is still the case. Going to the Edinburgh Festival last year and performing it for the entire month was absolutely game changing. And very expensive!
But I can say that the act of creating it, made me focus on how much waste I was creating and how I must restrict that.
Cabaret has always balanced entertainment with provocation — how do you use that dynamic to speak to the climate crisis without losing the audience’s sense of joy and hope?
Well, choosing good music really helps and I am very lucky to be familiar with Stephen Sondheim’s work, Kander & Eb, Johnny Mercer, Tom Lehrer, Alan Jay Lerner, and new writing by writers such as Katherine McMahon and Eric Angus, Jordan Paul Clarke, Adam Guettel to name but a few. I tell a couple of stories and use Shakespeare’s prose and verse to help ask a vital question … drawing from these excellent writers and composers
With each show featuring different artists and stories, how do you curate a sense of cohesion while embracing such a wide spectrum of voices and styles?
The theme …our Beautiful World … brings that cohesion. We talk about it together. I sometimes send articles, literature that informs and inspires. But the joy of the variation with each individual is where the magic is. I wish everyone could see every show!! I suggested a special ticket to see the whole set but 17 is a lot of shows !!!
Looking back at your celebrated career, how has your sense of artistic responsibility shifted in response to global challenges like climate change?
I ask different questions now when I am talking about a contract. Can we use less lighting? Can it all be LED… how far do I have to travel ? How do I travel ? ( I gave up flying in 2020) can we recycle materials? Cory Shipp is redesigning the stage at the Charing Cross theatre for the cabarets . It’s beautiful. But had all been done with recycled materials. She and everyone building at Charing Cross have been so thoughtful and stylish.
You’ve said that nature responds when we help each other focus — how do you see that happening through performance and shared creativity?
There’s a real power in helping each other. We usually start sat round a table with food. It’s a good way to begin talking. People get more involved and start to come up with their own ideas. Notice the incredible beauty around them. And magically this year , my tiny garden is full of raspberries and roses! And grapes that will ripen later on. I rewilded my little garden and there are more butterflies and bees and birds. I live on a main road but my garden is a little haven.
What do you hope audiences leave with after a night at Beautiful World Cabaret — a new perspective, a sense of urgency, or simply the belief that change can begin with joy?
A sense of their own power. High self-esteem. And yes Joy!
There’s so much we can each do.
I would like more people to do a Beautiful World Cabaret !!
When you see what individuals have done it’s exciting . Hopefully people will leave with a new energy to care, focus. Resolve to stop using plastic!!! Or anything that’s single use.
It gets easier if you feel there’s a community of people to chat with, who love Nature. Beautiful World Cabarets are helping to build that community. The problem with plastic is that it won’t biodegrade. It’s also incredibly useful! But the damage we do by letting it float in our waters or remain in our soil is considerable. I am almost completely plastic free. I have a box of unwrapped organic veg , delivered every week from Riverfords for £15. I feel so healthy. And I buy food from source so I’m reusing containers – olive oil, oats, pasta, lentils, beans, salt , coconut milk powder.. also my shampoo , conditioner , all cleaning products. I’m just constantly refilling the containers. Usually glass bottles or jars.
We throw away a third of the food we produce globally and a quarter of that food could feed the hungry But that food we ‘throw’ is often left to rot in sacks and produces harmful gasses. Which are helping to heat the Earth.
Janie Dee’s Beautiful World Cabaret’s run from Saturday 5 July to Sunday 13 July at Charing Cross Theatre. For full details of with the host and line up of each show and to book tickets please visit https://charingcrosstheatre.co.uk