Congratulations go out to the Climate Disaster Project on winning Silver in the “Environmental and Climate Change” category at the Canadian Association of Journalists Awards on June 1 for Eyes of the Beast:Climate Disaster Survivor Stories, a documentary play about the experiences of British Columbians during the extreme fires, heat and flooding of 2021. This co-production with Neworld Theatre marks the first time a play has ever been recognized for reporting excellence at these prestigious annual journalism awards.
The timing is perfect too, as Eyes of the Beast will be remounted June 18-22 at Simon Fraser University’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts in downtown Vancouver — but they won the CAJ award for the show’s world premiere at UVic’s own Phoenix Theatre back in September 2024.
“This award comes just as we approach the four-year anniversary of the extreme heat, fires, and floods in Western Canada the play portrays,” says Climate Disater Project founding director Sean Holman, UVic’s Wayne Crookes Professor of Environmental and Climate Journalism.
“It’s also a testament to the 117 people who worked to bring it to the stage, including our partners at Neworld Theatre, our students at the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Mount Royal University, MacEwan University, and First Nations University of Canada, and — most importantly — the survivors who worked with them.”
Eyes of the Beast creative team (@helenecyrfotos)
About the play
Adapted from the award-winning journalism of the Climate Disaster Project — an international newsroom based out of UVic’s Writing department but now with over 35 educational, media and cultural partners worldwide — Eyes of the Beast is a verbatim production pulling from hundreds of testimonies of people across Canada who have lived through climate change together. It was created through the efforts of a number of UVic alumni, including Beast director and Neworld artistic director Chelsea Haberlin plus co-creator Sebastien Archibald.
As with when it debuted at UVic, each performance of the Vancouver run of the play will be followed by a facilitated talkback, featuring a BC or Vancouver political leader, who will engage with the audience and reflect on ways to support impacted communities.
The Vancouver premiere of Eyes of the Beast is co-created by Sebastien Archibald, Gavan Cheema, and Kelsey Kanatan Wavey.
Performance Details
Eyes of the Beast runs 90 minutes (including intermission and facilitated talkback) at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre. General admission $10. Performances run 7:30pm June 18-21, plus 2pm matinees on June 21-22.
Neworld managing director Alen Dominguez (right) with artistic director Chelsea Haberlin (left) plus CDP managing editor & Writing alum Aldyn Chwelos + Sean Holman (Kimberly Ho)