Greta Thunberg, drag queens and tangled relationships — “You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!” is a firework performance, produced by Company One Theatre, offering light during the dark realities creeping in on humanity.
Amid a terminally infected Earth, it is easy to see hope as a naive response to the impending catastrophe of our dying home. Joy can feel unproductive and irrelevant as environments rapidly deteriorate, with the average person feeling limited in their ability to make an impact. Greg, around whom the play is centered, faces a similar situation upon a stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis, believing himself to be the embodiment of Earth after a visit from Greta Thunberg in his existential dreams.
The play unabashedly traverses themes of hopelessness, life, death, identity and love, culminating in an indomitable sense of positivity and celebration. By the end, throwing a party before the finite fate of humanity seems like the only sane action to take.
Greg’s terminal cancer diagnosis and the detriment of climate change propelled the story forward, serving as a looming backdrop in the characters’ lives. Viv, Greg’s wife, grapples with her husband’s future through chaotic anticipatory grief, attending support meetings where she eventually finds community in the unexpected.
Their child, M, formerly Mikey, struggles with their relationship with Greg, constantly being referred to by their former name and feeling invisible to their father, all while trying to grow in the world of drag.
The performance uses lights in a psychedelic, otherworldly manner to transport viewers from a heavy plotline into a world of emotional reflection, with M as the emcee. The end of the world, and therefore Greg by extension, is stated by M in the opening lines of the performance. Instead of the despair that many feel in tandem with that ending, the story actively charges the characters with humor and life.
Despite the depression chewing at the family’s life caused by the unbearable inevitability of death, the production plants small seedlings of change and growth. Three journeys unfold: Viv learns to build support among people and places that were once foreign to her; M persists in the world of drag despite friction with their dad and Greg creates life in their front yard, ending the artificial, overwatered lawn and beginning with native plants and environmental efforts.
Although Greg’s eventual death occurs in the latter half of the production, hope is still found in the community and in the small acts of progress the family makes. Greg’s death is messy and devastating, but not drastic to the people around him.
This production was surprisingly scrappy and robust, considering the cast consisted of six actors, many taking on multiple roles. Radically eccentric, electric and effervescent, “You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!” is aimed to inspire. It inspires viewers to move forward regardless of the inevitable ends of their lives, and to celebrate the love and life around them, even if those people no longer physically exist.
This story works overtime to charge the audience with joy, even becoming interactive at the end, blasting music, popping confetti and hanging banners. It is evident that the crew is passionate about hope and believes it is a pillar in structural change. This play does not necessarily advocate for the immediate total transformation of the world, but instead seems to be a strong proponent of small steps taken by every human being to better our home.
This was a loud, definitive and entertaining performance dedicated to the power of love, joy and hope, and was difficult to view without some heavy emotional reflection and an ultimately warm heart.
