Playwright and UEA creative writing lecturer Steve Waters is tackling the subject of climate change in his new play debuting at Norwich Arts Centre this week.

Eastern Daily Press: Steve Waters has written the play In a Vulnerable Place.Steve Waters has written the play In a Vulnerable Place. (Image: submitted)

The new play - called In a Vulnerable Place - returns to climate change as a central theme following Mr Waters' previous play, The Contingency Plan, a story about a glaciologist in the near future.

Through stories from Waters' travels in the Norfolk Broads and the Steppes of Mongolia, In a Vulnerable Place investigates man-made climate change and how it is manifesting itself in very different parts of the world.

Mr Waters said: 'The show is a very personal narrative for me, a story of my own travels and experiences. I've been at the UEA for three years now and over that time have had many discussions with colleagues in the School of Environmental Sciences as well as with people working for the Broads Authority. I became very interested in how the Broads Authority is managing the increasing risks caused by climate change. With the problem so close to home I became slightly impatient that climate change is still being treated like a distant problem.

'I was also able to get a very different view on the subject, from the Mongolian Steppe, where I looked at the experiences of wild donkeys and camels as well as humans. The change in climate is more pronounced in Mongolia and the culture and attitudes of the people very different to that of Norfolk. This different prospective and insight is fascinating.'

The show opened at Norwich Arts centre tonight and is also being performed tomorrow night.

After each performance at Norwich Arts Centre there will be a discussion with a panel of experts and writers, responding to the themes of the performance.

The panel will be chaired by Simon Hooton, head of strategy at the Broads Authority and over the two nights will feature Professor Jacquie Burgess, former head of environmental sciences at UEA and currently vice-chair of the Broads Authority, Rupert Read, candidate for the Green Party for Cambridge for the 2015 election and Veronica Sekules, head of education and research at the Sainsbury's Centre for Visual Arts, among others.

About the post-show discussion Mr Waters said: 'It is key to me that this is not a lecture but that it stimulates conversation on the subject. During the panel discussion after the show, I invite the audience to be as involved as 'the experts'.'

Performances on Tuesday 21 October and Wednesday 22 October at 8pm.

Tickets £10 (£7 concessions). To book visit http://norwichartscentre.co.uk/