Antarctic Science on the Musical Stage

Although Antarctica is remote, imagined versions of the place can make it accessible from afar. Antarctica has been variously associated with heroes, extremes, purity, fragility and science, and such framings emerge across a range of media, including literature, music and theatre. Focusing on Antarctica—A New Musical (2016), we ask how a popular stage musical work can make global science challenges accessible to a wide public and help build connections with the ice continent for those who will never see it. We begin with contextual analyses of the musical as a form of science communication and Antarctica’s depiction on stage. We then examine Antarctica—A New Musical, paying particular attention to its engagement with scientific characters and concepts. The chapter traces the evolution of the musical from a stage production to a podcast and considers how this shift speaks to both scientific and human questions around our relationship with Antarctica and with the more-than-human world more broadly. Throughout the chapter we explore how a musical can be used to bring the far south into the lives of those ‘back home’, presenting a model for environmental and scientific storytelling about other remote places.