Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (reviewed Friday 9 August).
Lucy Kirkwood’s play The Children initiates a conversation about survival in the context of climate change. Inspired by the Fukushima nuclear disaster and transplanted to an English setting, the play examines the concepts of sacrifice, loyalty, accountability and moral responsibility via a domestic couple (Robin and Hazel), former scientists at the nuclear powerplant who have long since retired to a safe haven on the outskirts of the exclusion zone, where a life, if not exactly utopian, consists of yoga and yoghurt and the occasional spousal sniping. The mendacity hangs in the air like an unwelcome guest until it manifests itself in the form of Rose, a long-forgotten-presumed-dead colleague and acquaintance who hails the couple out of retirement with an extraordinary call to action.
Kirkwood’s play was written pre-pandemic but it’s inevitable that parallels will be drawn. Tonally, it has more gallows humour than On the Beach written by Nevil Shute, which also explores an end-of-the-world-via-radiation-poisoning scenario in a domestic setting. The mood, therefore, is haunting, compelling, building up to a chilling sense of unease and discomfort like silent endometriosis. And indeed, Kirkwood imbues her female characters with overt references to their attitudes towards illness, ageing, desirability and the shock of discovering black chin hairs.
The calibre of actors is strong, featuring Alison Chambers as Hazel, Mark Langham as Robin and Helen O’Connor as Rose. However, Madeleine Withington’s direction is a little unusual, with actors lapsing into awkward did-we-forget-our-lines silences before shrieking non sequiturs. Admittedly, it’s not the most fluid of productions from Joining the Dots Theatre, and the staging of a cottage interior is much too static for the 100-minute duration, with a door hanging open without apparent reason. The stark amber lighting belies the characters’ assertion of the need to ‘conserve power and electricity’, rendering the use of candles to be feint accessories rather than authentically adding to the ambience.
The score, however, is excellent, adding a dramatic, haunting mood leading up to the moment where the three characters must make a decision of extraordinary courage and sacrifice. The gallows humour also keeps the energy sailing along, with the audience positively responding to dark and unapologetic references to death.
The Children will certainly captivate your attention; it will also make you question some unusual dramatic choices.
The Children presented by Joining the Dots Theatre will be running at The Greek Theatre in Marrickville til 17 August 2024. For tickets and showtimes, go to https://ticketing.humanitix.com/tours/the-children