Tragicomedy about LA fires opens in Camden
When Erin Hunter's family home burned down she wrote a play about it
The adage ‘today news is tomorrow’s fish and chip paper’ can be true, as Jewish playwright Erin Hunter knows only too well. For people all over the world were horrified when wildfires destroyed huge swathes of Los Angeles in America but, as other new stories broke, the devastation was then very much forgotten.
But for Erin and her parents, the fires may have happened some months ago, but it will take them years for their lives to ever return to normality.
“On the day of the fire in the Palisades my parents and I lost everything but our lives,” explained Erin. “Our home, our possessions, everything that was dear to us, was wiped out.”
Erin, who was a native Angelino until she came to live in London to study at Lamda theatre school, found the impact of the fires to be completely overwhelming. But this award-nominated playwright decided the best way to respond to the situation was to write a play about it.
Burn Baby Burn is a tragicomedy with Erin managing to find humour in a dark situation. It tells the story of her septuagenarian parents’ struggles trying to navigate the overwhelming grief, toxic ash and bureaucracy purgatory, surrounded by clueless celebs, soulless politicians and insurance vampires, while 6000 miles away, their (very) anxious daughter in London was trying hard not to unravel.
Burn Baby Burn: LA Inferno is billed as a stripped-back, sharp-witted mix of storytelling, satire, and songs, exploring the human cost of climate change and the humans fanning the flames. Asking questions that nobody wants to answer like: why was LA’s biggest reservoir empty? What the hell is a ‘firenado’? And how did 80s film star Steve Guttenberg become a low-key hero?!
Erin’s parents are now living in temporary accommodation in a guest house – a far cry from their real home – and they have been told it will be five years before they can return to the home that they had lived in for all of their lives.
In Burn Baby Burn, Erin plays ten different characters including her parents, a fire fighter, a Hollywood celebrity, and a youtuber influencer. She recounts the experiences of so many people, not just her parents, all of whom were deeply affected by the conflagration that destroyed 14,000 homes. Accompanying the one hour long, one-woman show, are songs composed by Erin and played on a ukulele
Experienced playwright and screenwriter Erin’s previous play Surfing The Holyland – about her experiences when she and her husband moved to Israel, and she learned, amongst other things, how to surf – was nominated for the BBC Popcorn award for best new writing at Edinburgh Festival.
Burn Baby Burn is at the Etcetera Theatre in Camden on 6, 9 and 10 August. etceteratheatrecamden.com
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