There’s huge joy to be found in a brilliantly conceived set, and Alisa Kalyanova’s retro-psychedelic haven, which forms the backdrop to children’s dance theatre piece The Last Forecast, is an absolute delight. Seventies-influenced orange-pink geometric patterns cover everything, from the walls to the picture frames. Even Gael (Shanelle Clemenson), the gecko-like creature who lives in this strange, isolated world, wears a camouflaging costume (designed by Alison Brown) of the same fabric. 

The Last Forecast is a sweet, lovingly performed piece that takes the subject of rising water levels and climate change and forges a tender fable about community and hope. Into Gael’s unique solo world, where her only contact with the outside is via a radio, comes a human stranger (Kieran Brown). He makes himself at home, scrubbing the walls and floors, helping himself to Gael’s household objects, while she hides, cautiously assessing him from afar. 

As the radio continues to broadcast foreboding weather warnings (in surreal shipping forecasts that capture the alarming strangeness of the situation without actually alarming children), Gael and the stranger gradually acknowledge each other. A simple, folksy dance is the symbol of their newfound kinship and the high point of the piece, as both performers revel in the joy of movement and music. The story is slight and each beat in it eked out perhaps a touch longer than needed. But the message is an optimistic one to give children; there is hope if we pull together.

Bridie Gane & Catherine Wheels: The Last Forecast, Assembly @ Dance Base, run ended; main picture: Sally Jubb.