The Children (play)

Last updated

The Children
Written by Lucy Kirkwood
Date premiered17 November 2016 (2016-11-17)
Place premiered Royal Court Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SettingBritish coast

The Children is a play written by Lucy Kirkwood which premiered in London in 2016 and then on Broadway in 2017.

Contents

Premise

The play concerns two retired nuclear physicists, the married couple Hazel and Robin, who live in a remote cottage on the British coast. The world outside is dealing with a major disaster at a nuclear power station. They are visited by Rose, who is also a nuclear physicist.

The event that served as the inspiration for the play was the 2011 Fukushima nuclear explosion in Japan. [1]

Productions

The play premiered in London at the Royal Court Theatre, running from 17 November 2016 through 14 January 2017. The cast featured Francesca Annis, Deborah Findlay, and Ron Cook, directed by James Macdonald. [2] [3]

The play premiered on Broadway, produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club with the same cast, running at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre from 28 November 2017 to 4 February 2018. Direction was again by James Macdonald. [4] [5] The play received two Tony Award nominations, for Best Play and Best Featured Actress in a Play (Findlay). [6]

The Australian co-production by the Melbourne Theatre Company and the Sydney Theatre Company won the 2018 Helpmann Award for Best Play. Its director, Sarah Goodes, won the 2018 Helpmann Award for Best Direction of a Play and Pamela Rabe won the 2018 Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Play. [7]

A production of the play ran in Toronto at the Canadian Stage Theater from September 25 to October 21, 2017. [8] The Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago ran a production of the play, directed by Jonathan Berry, from April 18 to June 9, 2019. [9]

The Houston premiere of the play, directed by Brandon Weinbrenner, ran at Rec Room Arts from November 9 to December 7, 2019. [10]

Alumnae Theatre in Toronto staged a production running March 8 - March 23, 2024. [11]

Nottingham Playhouse has announced it will revive the play in early 2024. [12]

Reception

In 2019, writers for The Guardian placed The Children third on a list of the greatest theatrical works since 2000. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurie Metcalf</span> American actress (born 1955)

Laura Elizabeth Metcalf is an American actress. Metcalf is known for her complex and versatile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning more than four decades, including an Obie Award, two Tony Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Pendleton</span> American actor

Austin Campbell Pendleton is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor.

<i>Faith Healer</i> 1979 play by Brian Friel

Faith Healer is a play by Brian Friel about the life of the faith healer Francis Hardy as monologued through the shifting memories of Hardy, his wife, Grace, and stage manager, Teddy. It was first produced in 1979.

<i>The Price</i> (play) Play written by Arthur Miller

The Price is a two-act play written in 1967 by Arthur Miller. It is about family dynamics, the price of furniture and the price of one's decisions. The play premiered on Broadway in 1968, and has been revived four times on Broadway. It was nominated for two 1968 Tony Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lois Smith</span> American actress

Lois Arlene Smith is an American character actress whose career spans eight decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film East of Eden, and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including Five Easy Pieces (1970), Resurrection (1980), Fatal Attraction (1987), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Falling Down (1993), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Dead Man Walking (1995), Twister (1996), Minority Report (2002), The Nice Guys (2016), Lady Bird (2017), and The French Dispatch (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Letts</span> American actor and screenwriter

Tracy S. Letts is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for August: Osage County (2007), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. As an actor, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the Broadway revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2013).

Anna Davida Shapiro is an American theater director, was the artistic director of the Steppenwolf Theater Company, and a professor at Northwestern University. Throughout her career, she has directed both the Steppenwolf Theater Company production of August: Osage County (2007) along with its Broadway debut (2008-2009), the Broadway debuts of The Motherfucker with the Hat (2011) and Fish in the Dark (2014), and Broadway revivals of This Is Our Youth and Of Mice and Men, both in 2014. She won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for her direction of August: Osage County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline O'Connor (actress)</span> Australian actress and singer (born 1962)

Caroline Ann O'Connor is an Anglo-Australian singer, dancer, and actress. For her theatre work she has won three Helpmann Awards: Best Female Actor in a Play for Edith Piaf in Piaf in 2001 and the same category for Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow in 2006, and Best Female Actor in a Musical for Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes in 2015.

Deborah Findlay is an English actress. She has worked primarily on stage, but has also appeared in several TV series. She is known for playing the Defoe family matriarch Ruth in three series of the BBC TV legal drama The Split (2018-2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tina Landau</span> American playwright and theatre director (born 1962)

Tina Landau is an American playwright and theatre director. Known for her large-scale, musical, and ensemble-driven work, Landau's productions have appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, most extensively at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago where she is an ensemble member.

<i>The 39 Steps</i> (play) Play written by Patrick Barlow

The 39 Steps is a parody play adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. The original concept and production of a four-actor version of the story was written by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, and premiered in 1996. Patrick Barlow rewrote this adaptation in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Norris (playwright)</span> American dramatist

Bruce Norris is an American character actor and playwright associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. His play Clybourne Park won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Lucy Ann Kirkwood is a British playwright and screenwriter. She is known for her plays Chimerica (2013) and The Children (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufus Norris</span> British theatre and film director (born 1965)

Rufus Norris is a British theatre and film director, who is currently the artistic director and chief executive of the National Theatre.

Ian Barford is an American stage and television actor. He has appeared on Broadway in August: Osage County and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He was nominated for best actor in a play at the 74th Tony Awards for his performance in Linda Vista.

Paul Hilton is an English actor on stage, radio, and TV. He trained at the Welsh College of Music & Drama.

<i>Matilda the Musical</i> 2011 musical by Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly

Roald Dahl's Matilda, also known simply as Matilda and Matilda the Musical, is a musical with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a book by Dennis Kelly. It is based on the 1988 novel Matilda by Roald Dahl. The musical's narrative centres on Matilda Wormwood, a precocious five-year-old girl with the gift of telekinesis, who loves reading, overcomes obstacles caused by her family and school, and helps her teacher to reclaim her life. After a twelve-week trial run staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at Stratford-upon-Avon from November 2010 to January 2011, it received its West End premiere on 24 November 2011 at the Cambridge Theatre and its Broadway premiere on 11 April 2013 at the Shubert Theatre.

Jeffry Denman is an American actor, director, choreographer and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Hnath</span> American playwright

Lucas Hnath is an American playwright. He won the 2016 Obie Award for excellence in playwriting for his plays Red Speedo and The Christians. He also won a Whiting Award.

<i>The Inheritance</i> (play) 2018 play by Matthew Lopez

The Inheritance is a play by Matthew López that is inspired by the 1910 novel Howards End by E. M. Forster. The play premiered in London at the Young Vic in March 2018, before transferring to Broadway in November 2019.

References

  1. ↑ Sommer, Elyse. "A CurtainUp Review. 'The Children'" CurtainUp, December 13, 2017
  2. ↑ Shenton, Mark (11 September 2016). "Casting Announced for Royal Court Premiere of Lucy Kirkwood's The Children". Playbill. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  3. ↑ Billington, Michael (25 November 2016). "The Children review – Kirkwood's slow-burning drama asks profound questions". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  4. ↑ Clement, Olivia (12 December 2017). "Lucy Kirkwood's The Children Opens on Broadway | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Stasio, Marilyn (14 December 2017). "Broadway Review: 'The Children'". Variety. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "2018 Tony Award Nominations: SpongeBob SquarePants and Mean Girls Lead the Pack". Playbill. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "2018 Nominees | Helpmann Awards". www.helpmannawards.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Canadian Stage" . Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "The Children | Steppenwolf Theatre". www.steppenwolf.org. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Chen, Wei-Huan (19 November 2019). "'The Children' tackles environmental disaster and aging in all-too-relevant play". HoustonChronicle.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Alumnae Theatre" . Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  12. ↑ "Nottingham Playhouse reveals details for autumn 2023 season". WhatsOnStage.com . 20 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Billington, Michael; Soloski, Alexis; Love, Catherine; Fisher, Mark; Wiegand, Chris (17 September 2019). "The 50 best theatre shows of the 21st century". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 11 June 2020.


Comedy and tragedy masks.svg

This article on a 2010s play is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.