Ecological imagination, grieving and time in <i>Extinct</i> (2021) by April De Angelis and <i>The Trials</i> (2022) by Dawn King

Abstract This article aims to trace common strategies of representing the climate crisis in activist drama, referring to two examples of recent ecological plays: Extinct (2021) by April De Angelis and The Trials (2022) by Dawn King. My main argument is that these two plays actively seek to engage the audience in a debate on ecological crisis, climate justice, and intergenerational equity. In Dawn King's play, based in its structure on courtroom drama, the audience is placed in the position of the accused in a series of trials conducted by a jury comprised of teenagers. Extinct exposes the audience to stories from around the globe based on environmental activists' testimonies, documenting the disastrous effects of present negligence and irresponsibility. The plays marshal strong affective responses based on grieving, pretrauma, and solastalgia and narrow down the time gap between causes and effects of the climate crisis to call attention to the urgency and responsibility of taking action.