Power play poses moral dilemmas for us all
Lucy Kirkwood’s award-winning 2016 play The Children asks, ‘When do we take responsibility for the world we leave behind?’ – a question just as relevant today as debate over a nuclear future continues.
Tucked away up an elevator ride to the first floor above Milton’s restaurant strip, Savoir Faire, is PIP Theatre. You could be forgiven for not knowing it even existed, but it’s well worth a visit for its quirky furnishings and welcoming, cosy vibe.
Seating is for 100, with each seat enjoying a pretty good view of the action on stage. And, of course, there are the plays being presented, which is the best reason to go along.
The Children, a multiple award-winning play by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood (Chimerica), is currently playing – an intimate three-hander that takes 20 minutes or so to hit its stride, but when it does, makes for some compelling and thought-provoking theatre.
There’s just the one set – a sparse kitchen with table, chairs and a bench with basics such as a kettle – but it’s what we see beyond that which gives a somewhat portentous feeling. A huge power pole with its wires sticks out from the sky. The clouds imperceptibly change as the play progresses, so that the light evokes different times of the day but also an impending ominous sense as the clouds threaten to overwhelm.
In the cottage kitchen, Hazel (Julia Johnson) answers the door to Rose (Amanda McErlean), who has a bleeding nose. We learn that there’s been some sort of nuclear disaster nearby and that Hazel also has an organic farm, which is in the exclusion zone. Her house was flooded by a wave that the women refer to, evoking images of what happened at the Fukushima power plant in Japan in 2011.
Both scientists, the women used to work at the local nuclear power plant which is now facing a major disaster.
Into the picture comes Hazel’s husband, Rob, another fellow nuclear scientist (Terry Hansen), who’s been travelling to the farm each day to feed the cows. It’s clear that as soon as Rob and Rose see each other, there is some history there. And when Rob brings out his homemade parsnip wine, tongues become loose and old resentments rear their heads. This includes the two women comparing Hazel’s domestic life as a mother of four children and Rose’s choice to be childless.
We learn that Rose, who’s been living in the US for a long time, actually hasn’t seen either of these people for decades. So, why has she turned up on their doorstep right now? It takes a large part of the running time for us to discover that, and the answer presents some moral dilemmas for the characters.
The title of the play gives some notion about what is ultimately at stake, with the tagline being: When do we take responsibility for the world we leave?
With nuclear power still on the table as a possibility in this country by some, the question always needs to be pondered.
Actors Johnson, Hansen and McErlean all have a string of impressive credits to their names in interstate and local productions, and here they have an opportunity to relish their parts in a play where all the characters are over 60.
Subscribe for updates
Award-winning director Heidi Gledhill, Helena Trupp (set/costume/video design) and Noah Milne (lighting designer/operator) should all be commended as well.
The Children premiered in London in 2016, then received two Tony Award nominations, including for best play, after its run on Broadway. The Australian co-production by Melbourne and Sydney theatre companies won the 2018 Helpmann Award for best play, so audiences are well advised to take advantage of seeing this still very relevant work in a unique space.
The Children continues at PIP Theatre, Savoir Faire, Milton, until June 21.