Baked Alaska On Film

Baked Alaska has been adapted for film and is available for FREE download.

After touring in 2015 we received multiple requests for a film version of the production. While not every play is suitable for filming, we thought Baked Alaska was the perfect candidate, not least because of the topic. Climate Change is an issue which isn’t going to disappear any time soon, and a film of Baked Alaska would be an excellent resource for churches, for ‘green’ groups and schools to help keep the discussion going.

As the project developed we realised the best way to create an engaging, useful resource would be to split the play up into seven short excerpts, each approaching this complex issue from a different angle, from big business to biblical parables, from international stories to home truths here in the UK.

For Schools and Small Groups

Working with Lat Blaylock from RE Today we have created accompanying resources for schools. For small groups the Rev. Jim Roberts has written the discussion materials. You can find the full series of films alongside these resources at: ridinglights.org/baked-alaska

Watch The Films

The seven episodes draw together themes from the show to highlight the breadth of the issues that arise from climate change. Risky Business, the second film in the series, retells Jesus’ parable of the rich fool for a today’s world of investments and oil companies.

You can also find and download the full set of films on our vimeo page.

 

 

Baked Alaska Filming: 80% and rising…

Baked-Alaska-8019---WEBHave you checked the fundraising page for Filming Baked Alaska recently?
We’ve currently raised 82% of the target…. that’s an amazing £33,000!

This means we’re confident that filming can go ahead, it’s in the diary for this summer.

The recent boost in funding has come from a number of larger donors and organisations keen to make the film happen. In total we’ve had about £30,000 donated by trusts and organisations, but equally important are the donations from individuals, however small, so thank you to all of you who have given or told others about the campaign.

We’re not quite there, and that last £7,000 we still have to raise can help us do even more – film more of the show, create a better resource, and get them out to more people.

Can you help?

By donating (if you haven’t already) and telling others. It’s as easy as going to the justgiving page and clicking the share on Facebook button (or Twitter or email if you’d prefer).

Filming Baked Alaska

Last year we had an extraordinary response tour our national tour, Baked Alaska. Having reviewed the project with our commissioning partners, we agreed the show’s message should go much further…

So we plan to put highlights from BAKED ALASKA ON FILM to reach an even wider audience.

Baked-Alaska-7662-WEBWe would like to raise sufficient funds to make a series of short films available, at least for an initial period, as a free download to schools and other groups where teaching and discussion about climate change can take place.

By illustrating 6 key issues, accompanied by teaching materials, Baked Alaska could be a great resource. Translating highlights onto film seems the best way to be good stewards of the creativity we have already invested.

Can you help?

There are various ways you might like to help us to make this important thing happen!

1. Giving personally, or encouraging others to give at justgiving.com/baked-alaska

2. Pass on a Baked Alaska fundraising brochure to a church/green organisation. You can download a copy here or call 01904 655317 and we’ll post you some.

3. Putting us in touch with funding organisations who may want to support the Baked Alaska film.

Changing The Temperature

In September we asked Jonathan Bidgood, co-writer of Baked Alaska, to write a piece for our Members’ newsletter on why climate change and christianity could possibly be a recipe for entertainment. It’s a great insight into just why we think this topic is so important, so we thought we’d share it here too…

This autumn we’ll be hitting the road with an exciting new show, Baked Alaska. It’s been a year in the making, a collaboration with Christian Aid, Operation Noah and the Diocese of Lichfield, aiming to engage and embolden the christian community in the run up to December’s crunch climate conference in Paris held by the United Nations.

What kind of a show is it?

Baked-Alaska-7506-WEBBaked Alaska sits firmly in the satirical mould that is trademark Riding Lights. With sketches, puppets, live music and incisive storytelling that gets right to the heart of the issues. First and foremost we want the show to be a great evening out.

The very best entertainment can also get us thinking about big issues, so it will also be a chance to wrestle with the topic. Like so many of our shows, Baked Alaska isn’t a series of answers, but a story to help us ask better questions. What is the climate crisis anyway? Why should we care? What can we do? We also want the audience to come away feeling hopeful – not powerless when it comes to tackling climate change.

The question about why we should care is particularly close to my heart. This is an issue that is so vast, so all consuming, that it is easy to ignore, failing, as it does, to tap into our more immediate needs and desires. It can be even easier to ignore within christian communities, where an emphasis on evangelism, or caring for the vulnerable, or righting social wrongs so often takes up all of our attention. Questions of conservation and resource management seem very far away when there are people going hungry on your doorstep.

Why should we care?

Baked-Alaska-8130-WEBWell, of course, it is an issue about people going hungry. Environmental problems hit the world’s poorest communities hardest. It might not be the frame many of us are familiar with seeing the environment in, but the most convincing scientific predictions suggest that those on the front line of climate change will be the most vulnerable – our neighbours all over the world. Christian Aid’s input into the project has helped us find stories which illustrate these problems, and some of the possible solutions.

Secondly, we are called to be the stewards of creation. In the very first chapter of the bible we are told that God sets human beings in dominion over the whole earth, a verse that has led to some astonishing, environmentally destructive behaviour over the ages. I can only imagine that such behaviour is the result of people failing to read the previous verse, in which we are told that we are created in the image of God. It is the image of a God who hovers above the waters, who speaks creation into being, who establishes a rich, interdependent ecosystem and then declares each part of it to be good. That dominion does not come with a licence to use and abuse, but with a powerful invitation, a responsibility, to become more like God in all of our actions, and in our treatment of his creation.

Can you help?

I’m sure there are almost as many opinions out there on this subject as there are audience members. Whatever your take on the issue, we’d love for you to come along, enjoy the show, and then please stick around and chat to us. Perhaps you could bring a whole group? I’m desperate to help start a church wide conversation on this one, to see the christian community become a world leader in caring for our planet. So, whatever you think, I hope to see you on the road this autumn.

Baked Alaska is touring until the end of November 2015. You can find a full list of upcoming performances here.

Baked Alaska – at Coventry Cathedral

We were thrilled to take Baked Alaska to the Reconciling A Wounded Planet at Coventry Cathedral, a perfect fit as the two day conference was looking at “stories of hope’ in the midst of the growing environmental crisis”.

Even better, The Church Times were there and Pat Ashworth gave the show a fantastic review. Below are a few choice quotes and you can read the full piece on their website.

“a robust and delicious satire on climate change”

“This is pure Riding Lights: funny, colourful, biting”

“You couldn’t feel passive about the issue after watching this”

We’re also really enjoying take the show to Cathedrals, partly because the set looks fantastic in such large spaces. Here’s the audience gathering ready for the show at Coventry.

Coventry Cathedral

Baked Alaska is touring the UK until the 28 November. You can find a performance near you at ridinglights.org/baked-alaska or see what else the press have been saying here.

 

 

Introducing… Baked Alaska

Green suggestions from our Members Day in YorkRiding Lights Theatre Company is pleased to announce our new show for autumn 2015, BAKED ALASKA.

From the four corners of the earth come inter-connecting stories of human beings living with the wild, unpredictable effects of climate change…

Scientists, farmers, oil magnates, climate warriors, prophets, mothers, journalists and others just like you and me – we’re all in the mix and hungry for a recipe of hope in the struggle about power. Some will sound the warming bell, some blow hot and cold, while others make a pudding of the planet.

Through the richly entertaining world of BAKED ALASKA, the realities of climate change are served up with flair and clarity about the temperatures involved. Riding Lights are creating an inspiring show which is challenging but fun, urgent but hopeful.

Performances in your community

BAKED ALASKA is touring to churches across the UK from September 16th to November 22nd, serving up a recipe for hope ready for the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change taking place in Paris this December.

The show is presented by a solidarity of organisations, including Christian Aid, Operation Noah and the Diocese of Lichfield, committed to raising a christian voice in the call to worldwide action.

If you would be interested in hosting this inspiring piece of theatre in your community then please contact Caitlin, our BAKED ALASKA tour organiser, at Riding Lights Theatre Company on 01904 655317 or email: caitlin@rltc.org