Ocean's Odyssey Musical

Inspired by the EU report Mission Starfish 2030: Restore our Oceans and Waters, the project started in October 2020. Over a long lockdown winter, the teenagers brainstormed, wrote and designed the booklet that was presented to the Commission in September 2021 (pictured above). It’s now being shared among the EU’s Blue Schools network, which teaches about a sustainable future for coastal areas.

2030 Ocean’s Odyssey combines storytelling, scientific research and hand-drawn artwork to tell the story of zebrafish Timmy (pictured), who dies after eating a plastic bag and becoming entangled in a face mask. His demise prompts Mother Earth to take humans and polluting companies to court, calling on witnesses from the aquatic world. Over 42 pages, the comic explores the threats to the world’s oceans. Interspersed by boxes with facts and diagrams, it explains how the water cycle is important for all marine and human life and how chemical pollution is destroying the sea bed.

The story has also taken on its own life in the musical, with some characters given a greater role than in the book. One promoted character is Timmy, whose early death sparks the tribunal at the heart of the book. “The students really connected with him, so we have a song called We Will Fight for Timmy and this flows through the whole story,” says Levy, who has been impressed by the students’ passion. “You need to balance the emotion with the storyline and the science while getting the environmental message across,” she adds.

Read more about our project and musical in the Bulletin's article here.