END OF THE WORLD FM at the Cockpit Theatre

★★★

“Kevin Martin Murphy is a sympathetic performer, and knows how to connect with an audience”

Kevin Martin Murphy’s one man show End of the World FM is an appropriately apocalyptic musing on the state of a world that has succumbed to climate crisis, and the collapse of capitalism. Written by Murphy, and directed by James Tudor Jones, End of the World FM has the kind of edgy energy you would expect from a character who finds himself alone on a planet that has contracted to a radio broadcasting studio. Is there anyone out there listening?

In the course of sixty minutes in real time, and the fifteen years that pass on stage, James Martin Murphy invites us into a vastly contracted space that is End of the World FM. It’s a believable depiction of a Radio Host who finds himself the only person—no wait, only creature—left alive on a cooked, and still cooking, planet. Lots of room for regrets, as you might imagine. But what is oddly hopeful about this scenario is that The Host, played by Murphy, has decided to keep broadcasting his radio show. That’s the optimistic interpretation. It might also be that the Host has just gone crazy in his isolation. Surrounding himself with the sounds of a world that is gone is the only way to keep himself tethered, no matter how tenuously, to life. It’s the music, live on air interviews with invited guests who never respond; dispatches from fictitious journalists allegedly reporting from battle zones; political ads for a Democratic candidate for an American election that won’t ever be held, and soothing female voiceovers, that keep the Host engaged. But inside the reality of his studio, it’s also clear that the lack of response—even the sounds of a vanished world—are gradually pushing the Host to the point where he’s going to have to break out, even if it means joining that world in self immolation.

Kevin Martin Murphy is a sympathetic performer, and knows how to connect with an audience. He can switch from existential despair to poignant poems to catastrophe humour at the drop of a hat. Director James Tudor Jones keeps the acting space charged with energy, but refreshingly clear of extraneous set pieces. The space is Murphy’s to fill as he wishes. And although this is a one man show, it should be noted that there are two other characters who play parts in End of the World FM. One is the soothing Female Voice (played by Rachel Verhoef) and the other is the rich and varied soundscape itself (designed by Murphy). There are two main weaknesses to the piece. The first is that the script depicts a static situation (nothing really changes over the course of fifteen years) and it’s difficult to inject much dramatic tension or even suspense into End of the World FM as a consequence. The Host’s decision to end his self imposed isolation seems an almost spur of the moment decision. And Murphy, for all his confident writing skills, is not quite as confident a performer. He’s a bit too likable, and this gives the character of The Host little room for growth.

Nevertheless End of the World FM is a show that steps out of its comfort zone, and tackles the thorny subject of a dying planet head on. It takes courage to write about that, just as it takes courage to stand alone on stage for sixty minutes and play the part of the last living creature on Earth. Is this show a fantasy or a prophecy? You decide. Let’s hope Kevin Martin Murphy and his team continue to work on producing thoughtful pieces like End of the World FM.