The future of our world in the context of natural or man-made disasters is an uneasy topic of discussion. What could these disasters unveil, not only for our communities, but for the people and relationships we hold dear?
Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children explores all of this and more, playing at the Gladstone Theatre from Feb. 19-March 8.
“The Children is about three retired nuclear physicists in the wake of a meltdown at the plant they used to work at,” says RJ Mayo, stage manager of the production. “The play explores their relationships and past history with each other, as well as what responsibility they have to the younger generations who will bear the brunt of the damage resulting from the disaster.”
While the climate crisis is certainly on the top of young peoples’ minds for the future of our world, this performance also includes the duty of care from older perspectives.
“One of the most pertinent questions this play asks is: To what extent are older people responsible to the new generations coming up?” says actor Beverley Wolfe. “We already hear parents say: I don’t want this to be the world that my children inherit; what can we do right NOW.”
Written by Kirkwood, and first performed in London in 2016, this performance includes hints of dark comedy along the backdrop of this nuclear meltdown.
“Lucy Kirkwood is a brilliant writer,” says director Eleanor Crowder. “We chose this script for her combination of mordant wit and wild giddiness. [There’s] lots of Monty Python moments, [with] serious themes and lots of deeply recognizable family moments which dissolve in laughter.”
“The humour is built right into the script,” says actor Rachel Eugster. “The show looks at serious questions, but it does so with immense compassion for the characters. Isn’t humour the best way to deal with real-world decisions of consequence?”
Poster for The Children. Photo provided.
This performance is performed by members of the Bear & Co., a local theatre company which has been putting on compelling works in Ottawa since 2012. Since then, the Ottawa theatre scene has experienced some ups and downs, but this is truly a profession of passion for the team.
“Producing professional indie theatre is not for the faint of heart. We are constantly working to make magic with too few resources, because there are never enough jobs for the number of fabulous theatre artists in town (something the lovely flowering of talent coming out of our universities discovers once they graduate), we (as Bear) have centred our practice on creating the work that we want to do,” says Eugster.
“The biggest change since 2012 has been due, of course, to the pandemic,” she continues. “Because people discovered that they can entertain themselves well at home, theatre has come back more slowly than other industries. But there is nothing like live performance—sitting in a living, breathing audience, sharing the sense that anything could happen—and for the first time since 2019, it feels as though the appetite for theatre has come roaring back.”
“As the youngest member of the team, and as someone who’s very much at the beginning of my theatre career, this project has been really great to work on even aside from what I’m doing as stage manager,” says Mayo. “It’s been a great opportunity to see how people work when they’ve been practicing their craft for decades, and to learn from watching them.”
Ultimately, the team hopes that audiences walk away with something to think about, while also appreciating the poignant humour throughout.
“This show does what theatre does best: entertain while sending you away with solid themes to consider and discuss,” says Crowder. “Each character embodies a different reaction to the circumstances of the play. We sympathise and we criticise. Result: a feast for the audience!”
“I hope that audiences leave the theatre, having seen something worthy and funny and just…human,” says Wolfe. “And go home and research all the catastrophes, natural and human-designed, and have just a good ol’ think about our small planet and how it is constantly changing, not, of course, always for the better. And I hope they think about small/large changes they could make in their own lives.”
Make sure to catch The Children at the Gladstone theatre from Feb. 19-March 8. Tickets can be purchased online, or by contacting the box office 613-223-4523. For more information about the show, visit the Gladstone Theatre’s website. For information on Bear & Co., they also have a website for your perusal.
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