The Children is a black comedy by Lucy Kirkwood that uses a major nuclear disaster as a plot device to explore a wide range of moral and ethical issues. The play was written a few years after the Fukushima nuclear accident and the setting is a cute seaside cottage just outside the ‘exclusion zone’ of high radiation, near the flooded nuclear plant.
The Children is darkly funny despite its serious topic. The characters are all 60-something, and there is a lot of very sharp humour about life, death, and aging. I laughed out loud quite a few times.
(L-R): Beverley Wolfe, Hugh Neilson and Rachel Eugster. Photo by Eleanor Crowder.
As the play opens in the cottage, Rose (Rachel Eugster) visits Hazel’s (Beverley Wolfe) place and somehow gets her nose bloodied by Hazel. They haven’t seen each other in over 30 years, and in the first part of the play, we learn about their personalities and shared history. Both worked at the failed nuclear plant nearby where Hazel met her husband Robin (Hugh Neilson).
Hazel and Rose offer a stark contrast in their approach to life. Hazel wants to live forever and so eats healthy and practises yoga. She is motivated by having kids and grandkids and one grown daughter who requires a lot of assistance. Rose is single and a hedonist who lives for today, yet has a sense of responsibility about the future.
In the second half of the play, we learn why Rose has travelled to reconnect with Hazel and Robin. The conflict between Rose and Hazel escalates and eventually Hazel stomps off to her bedroom and leaves Robin and Rose alone.
Hugh Neilson and Beverley Wolfe. Photo by Eleanor Crowder.
The play ends on a somewhat hopeful note. Yes, the world is damaged and the characters are experiencing their declining years, but they can still make ethical choices that improve the shared future.
The performances in the show were all great. Hugh Neilson as Robin had the least material to work with but came across nicely as the slightly goofy husband attempts to keep the peace with wife Hazel and deal with an old flame.
Hugh Neilson and Rachel Eugster. Photo by Eleanor Crowder.
Beverley Wolfe as Hazel was wonderful. She is dealing with an interloper in her cottage who may have designs on her husband. She radiates anxiety, speaks quickly, and says what she thinks.
The play uses overlapping lines and characters occasionally fumbling for the right word to give an impressive sense of naturalness. Rachel Eugster as Rose is the yang to Hazel’s yin. She is calm and cool and tries not to upset Hazel too much.
Overall, The Children is a fine theatrical experience that poses tough questions, but also entertains.
The Children continues at the Gladstone until March 8. Shows are at 7:30pm from Tuesdays to Saturdays, with a Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2:30pm. Tickets are available here.
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