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View from the Writer and Director, Paul Levy
Recycled Dreams is not a preachy show and it won't get a predictable reaction from its audience. Some people recognise themselves in one of the characters and they don't always like what they see in the mirror of the drama.
All three characters have positive virtues as well as aspects of their lives they are not happy with. Jamie is the ultimate cynic on the surface, but deeper down he holds strong beliefs about the world. He keeps his home life and beliefs separate from a more cynical view of work.
Ultimately though, it is Jamie who takes the first deeper, positive steps towards sustainability, both personally and professionally. Natalie is a genuine believer in all things "green" but part of her evangelism is a bit of a cover up for her own sense of being a bit lost and confused in her own personal life.
She's found certainty in the "green agenda" at a time when her career path has gone astray and a personal relationship has not succeeded. So she's escaping into an external "cause". Natalie also finds a deeper solution towards the end of the play, realising that it is ok for life to not go to plan AND to still hold strong, genuine beliefs about life's issues and challenges. Nick comes to realise that his life is NOT sad. he's a bit of a loner, has lost his way in terms of friends and finding deeper relationships. He is a bit stuck in the same job.
Yet, of all the characters in the play he has come to realise that some of the more basic, simple things in life can be satisfying and fulfilling. He isn't always assertive, social and confident, but he likes life. He comes to realise that what matters are the simple connections we have with each other, with ourselves and with our work.
There's a central theme in Recycled Dreams and I am very interested in people's views on it. The whole "green agenda" is a bit meaningless if we see the planet as something not really connected to our daily lives. The reason a lot of people don't focus too much on the environment is because our own more local environments have become a bit unsustainable. Routine work. Faceless call centres. Cheap, tasteless food. The treadmill of trying to earn more and more to buy more gadgets and stuff. Luckily humanity is generally resourceful enough to still seek out and have some fun, to enjoy life, but often even that feels a bit samey. In the play it is called "Wretched contentment". The play doesn't tell anyone how to live their lives but it does present three different characters who all have some unsustainable aspects of their personal lives - their relationship to work, to friends, family and each other, as well as to their values about the planet they live on.
Is it ok not to care about global warming? Is it ok not to care about not having a direction in life? Is it ok to be indifferent towards the suffering of others? is it ok to be indifferent towards one's own dissatisfaction or unhappiness?
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