THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lucy Kirkwood’s brilliant THE CHILDREN is quietly harrowing; don’t miss it

Ron Cook, Francesca Annis, and Deborah Findlay in Lucy Kirkwood's "The Children" at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Ron Cook, Deborah, Findlay, and Francesca Annis in Lucy Kirkwood’s “The Children” at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

This weekend, I finally had a chance to catch Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. The play, set in the near future on a remote cottage just off the coast of England, tells the story of a reunion of sorts between three retired nuclear engineers. As the play unfolds, we slowly learn of the devastation that has taken – and is currently taking – place around them. In the twilight of their lives, each deals with this tough reality in their own way.

Ms. Kirkwood, who made a name for herself with her panoramic Chimerica, here is no less ambitious, albeit in a quietly harrowing way. The play calls to mind the works of Harold Pinter (the looming menace)  and Caryl Churchill (the unsettling speculative scenario), but The Children‘s ultimately incisive writing and point of view is all Ms. Kirkwood. The production, a transfer from London’s Royal Court Theatre, is directed with slow-burning intensity by James MacDonald (a frequent collaborator of Ms. Chruchill’s, in fact). Both the play and the production handsomely reward patience and astute engagement.

The cast, all three original to the London run, is impeccable. Having been with the play for a while, Francesca Annis, Ron Cook, and Deborah Findlay all easily find the soulful, often times frustrating, essence of their respective characters and expose it beautifully over the course of the play. The Children is an important work and is certainly the finest play currently playing on the Great White Way. If you haven’t already made your way to the Friedman Theatre, don’t mss this chance to see this one; it wraps up its limited run in just two weeks.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

THE CHILDREN
Broadway, Play
Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
1 hour, 50 minutes (without an intermission)
Through February 4

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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