BBC Radio 4, August 20, 2021

Are we already too late?

Martin Jameson brings this first season of Angst! to a close with a story that, like the previous episode, feels all too real. Not in its presentation – the odds of a sentient version of the planet getting involved in a discussion with a refugee cleaner after the death of a professor who’s found a way to give it a voice must be considerably more than the proverbial million to one (he says hopefully) – but in its presentation of the realities of life, and how we are not that far from pushing things too far.

There have been times in the whole series where the background research has become foregrounded for a part of the play and that’s definitely the case in this finale, with Kerry Shale delivering a masterclass in multiple voices (and personalities – for Doctor Who fans, this is Xoanon taken to the nth degree), but at the same time pointing out all the things that are wrong. Not that might go wrong, but that are wrong now. And is genocide ever warranted? We’re reminded we’re the carbon units that infest the planet, the cause of the damage to an ecosystem that seems to have got along quite well enough without us, thanks very much.

The arrival of Cyril Nri’s Timon Greer is once again further out of left field than you might imagine, begging some quite large questions as to who and what he represents. Yusra Warsama’s Nemat is a very different kind of Everyman (as Shale’s Gaia isn’t the airy-fairy Earth goddess you might expect) and whether you agree with her counterarguments or not, she puts up a strong case.

Once again, Adam Woodhams and Steve Bond’s sound design is an integral part of the experience – this play in particular benefitted from listening with earphones – and Nicolas Jackson’s direction allows things to push as hard as possible without going over the top.

As the week has progressed, we’ve gone from laughing at the areas being spotlighted into being made forcefully aware of things we might not want to consider. This isn’t the finale you might expect – but that thwarting of expectation is in many ways what makes it work.

Verdict: Excellent performances from Shale, Warsama and Nri provide a strong capstone to an intriguing  series. 8/10

Paul Simpson