Man Cave, a tragicomedy

In this 90-minute show, “Man Cave: A One-Man Sci-Fi Climate Change Tragicomedy,” performed at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 in the Chapman Auditorium, Timothy Mooney pushes the envelope as his script informed and questioned his audience about the effects of climate change.

“Man Cave” is set in a bunker located inside a Canadian mountainside. With walls covered with shelves full of Campbell’s soup and the hum of a solar powered generator, Jim, played by Mooney, sits alone at his desk with his laptop and a microphone.      In this future, apocalyptic world, Jim broadcasts into the unknown, hoping someone hears his cries for a better yesterday. Set 10 years in the future, this tragicomedy takes place after the more prominent effects of climate change have come to pass; yet the play has details that are relevant today.

Jim speaks about fire sweeping half of the earth and walls being built on a southern border to keep refugees out. After the self-proclaimed existentialist, tragicomedy ended, there was a short Q and A where audience members asked some great questions about the piece.

Mooney explained that his play is a call-to-action.

“I have three simple words: get it together,” Mooney said.

Mooney then went on to discuss the data that he incorporated in the play.

“There is this graph phenomenon called the hockey stick where this steep change in our carbon emissions changed drastically at the time of the industrial revolution,” Mooney said. “At this point, it’s hard to go back.”

Junior Nkechi Ntagu said she liked his use of subversive messages to engage the audience.

“What I liked most from the production is how enthusiastic he was about getting his message across about the world,” Ntagu said. “I also enjoyed the use of irony and hidden messages to make us think more about what is really going on and I loved the last part where we didn’t know if it ended as a tragedy or comedy.”

Other aspects of the play included the fact that it is set exactly 10 years ahead of the date on which it is being presented. This show is still in its final workshop stages as small things change with every showing. But, luckily for the FMU audience, they were presented with the premiere of the character Rosie, represented by the image of an ex-girlfriend, who may have a permanent spot in the show.