Julia Marques

I have been a dramatist for many years, studying it and taking part in many theatre productions with roles ranging from actor, director, producer and front of house manager.

I became interested in working in the environmental sector several years ago and studied the social, historical and cultural aspects of climate change at King’s College London in 2016. My research focus was on the space for thought that climate change theatre provides.

Since then, I have managed to combine the arts and environmentalism in several ways. I worked with fellow ClimateCultures member Lola Perrin to help with project management at ClimateKeys — arranging concerts that allow people to have a conversation about climate change. I directed Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children (a play about tough choices in a dystopian future set in flooded north east England) with my local theatre group. I also worked at The Gaia Foundation in London, helping to support projects in Earth Jurisprudence, Seed Sovereignty and Beyond Extractivism.

As part of a team on the Falmouth Launchpad programme, I worked on a community news platform for journalists and other organisations to have access to verified user content to create more grassroots news stories about the environment and beyond.

I am currently Community Engagement Manager at Climate Home News, an independent news outlet specialising in the politics of climate change. I look after our community of readers and support the team with communications and social media management.

Creative Conversations

In January 2021, Julia conducted a series of lively and engaging conversations with fellow ClimateCultures members. These covered a wide range of topics that inform the work that ClimateCultures celebrates, and Julia introduces them and brings them together in Conversations with Work That Connects, where you can find all five videos. 

In June, Julia recorded a follow-up conversation with four of the interviewees, taking the discussion further. You can find the recording in Talking to the Crisis, where ClimateCultures editor Mark Goldthorpe reflects on the themes they discussed.

Julia’s ClimateCultures Posts: 

On COP & the Art of Change

On COP & the Art of Change

Climate change communicator Julia Marques helped amplify COP26 reporting from the Blue Zone in Glasgow. Here she looks at the artworks she encountered at the COP and the value of creative activity alongside the activism and negotiations. 2,570 Read More
Conversations with Work That Connects

Conversations with Work That Connects

Climate change dramatist and activist Julia Marques introduces a series of lively and engaging conversations she has recorded with fellow members. Artists and researchers explore their experiences with wide-ranging topics which inform the creative work that ClimateCultures celebrates. Read More
Directing The Children

Directing The Children

Climate change dramatist Julia Marques looks to her recent experience directing a play about environmental crisis to ask how community and other positive features of amateur dramatics groups might offer us routes into addressing the climate emergency itself. Read More
Keyboard Conversations Across the World

Keyboard Conversations Across the World

Dramatist Julia Marques previews ClimateKeys, a visionary global initiative from fellow ClimateCultures Member Lola Perrin. Julia considers the space it offers for more relaxed, but still urgent, sharing of thought and dialogue on the predicament of our times. Read More
Space for Thought

Space for Thought

Dramatist Julia Marques reflects on her research for an MA in Climate Change: Culture, History, Society, and the role that theatre can play in opening up space for us to take in what climate change means for us.  Read More
It Begins ...

It Begins …

Dramatist Julia Marques introduces her research on the increasing interest in climate change within new drama, using visual discourse analysis to chart how the topics are addressed explicitly or form a backdrop to the world of the performance. Read More