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The Katrina Project: Hell and High Water

 
A. A. Lewis Review by A. A. Lewis 3 Published: 15 Aug 2025 theSpace @ Niddry St Show Dates: 4 Aug 2025-9 Aug 2025

With the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina fast approaching (August 29), the Willow School Theatre Department of New Orleans brings a passionate and timely production about the disaster to the Edinburgh Fringe 2025. Katrina is perhaps the most famous hurricane in modern history, a tropical cyclone that swept the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, leaving devastation in its wake. Fatalities totalled 1,392, with damages estimated at $125 billion. But as much as the hurricane itself, it is the aftermath and lack of federal response that have stayed in historical and cultural memory – nowhere more so than in New Orleans.

A passionate and timely production about the disaster

Based on collected interviews, found text, and stories, these high school performers present a detailed account not just of the hurricane – the (lack of) preparation, the damages, accounts of entrapment and isolation – but also of the events that followed. It tackles themes of classism, systemic racism, and neglect by the US government, all of which continue to shape society twenty years on.

Translating oral testimonies to the stage is a tall order, and sometimes The Katrina Project rises to the challenge, showing the quality of these young performers, all of whom have inherited the Katrina legacy. At times, though, the production falls into facts and figures, losing sight of what makes its strongest moments so effective – allowing performances and individual perspectives to breathe and turn into cries for justice.

This is clearly a crucial entry in the political catalogue of this year’s Fringe, and I would recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about Katrina’s history and political context – especially around race and class in modern America – and to experience the story told by survivors, flawed though this praiseworthy production may be.

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The Blurb:

August 2005: 20 years ago, Hurricane Katrina forever changed New Orleans, LA, and the entire Gulf Coast region of the United States. The Category Five storm brought devastation, heartbreak, anger, and despair. The Katrina Project: Hell and High Water features a diverse group of characters who take audiences on an emotional journey into the hearts and souls of Katrina's survivors. Through interviews, collected stories, and found texts, these characters give voice to one of the greatest natural disasters in US history and show how our city ultimately discovered the true meaning of community.