Set in fictional year 2087. Six years since The Great Switch. Fossil fuels outlawed, food rationed, capitalism dismantled. And Natural Service, a network of community farms that all young people aged 18 - 23 are required to live and work on by law, is a nation-wide success story. For most people that is. For Heather and Lou it’s their reality. A plot of corn to harvest and an air of silence to fill - the two Stewards are alone. Heather is quiet yet unwavering. Lou wants to talk frankly, openly. But that’s the one thing they can’t do here. Well, that and have a hot shower. Lou will have to be delicate, subtle, strategic, if she’s to have any success in unearthing the bare and honest truth that Heather has kept buried for so long. ‘Natural Service’ grounds us in the messy and complicated reality of a utopian society. In the face of our climate crisis, Lou and Heather’s world illuminates how fine a line a utopian system must tread; one misplaced step unveiling its dystopic parallels. Surveillance, restriction, frugality and punishment. Are these the bounds we must endure to do the right thing? To restore the balance we destroyed?

Call to Action:

We would like to promote as many local and international charities who are raising awareness for the climate crisis as possible. One of these is Friends of the Earth (https://friendsoftheearth.uk/donate/join-fight-people-and-planet-donate-today). We are calling people to find out what their local government or council are doing to be more green, and find petitions in their local area to encourage more sustainable practices.