{"id":738,"date":"2023-06-07T01:06:38","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T01:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/?p=738"},"modified":"2023-06-12T00:41:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T00:41:41","slug":"the-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/the-children\/","title":{"rendered":"The Children"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]\n

The Children<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Reviewed by Philip Brandes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ensemble Theatre Company at the New Vic<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Through April 23<\/strong><\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What starts out as an intimate, often comically awkward reunion of aging Boomer scientists evolves into a sobering meditation on climate change, intergenerational responsibility, and personal sacrifice in Santa Barbara\u2019s Ensemble Theatre Company production of\u00a0The Children<\/em>.<\/p>\n

British playwright Lucy Kirkwood\u2019s 2016 drama is already a theatrical staple thanks to its topicality, sharply-drawn characters, and slow-mounting but inexorable tension \u2014 qualities abundantly apparent in veteran SoCal director Jenny Sullivan\u2019s taut staging.<\/p>\n

In a deceptively idyllic cottage setting by the English seaside, a pair of retired physicists-turned-farmers cling to a semblance of normal life in the aftermath of an ecological disaster at the nearby nuclear power plant where they once worked (Kirkwood\u2019s all-too-realistic dystopian scenario mirrors the 2011 Fukushima meltdown).<\/p>\n

Even as emergency teams are still struggling to safely engineer a cold reactor shut-down, homemaker Hazel (Nancy Travis) devotes herself to household maintenance (her obsessive diligence is evident in Sam Vawter\u2019s immaculately detailed scenic design). Meanwhile, her husband Robin (Michael Butler) goes out each day to tend the farm animals left behind at their evacuated former home.<\/p>\n

This fa\u00e7ade of ordinary routine is upended by an unexpected visit from their old power plant colleague, Rose (Linda Purl), Robin\u2019s once and perhaps more recent romantic partner.<\/p>\n

As they dance around the unresolved baggage from that romantic triangle, the well-cast ensemble sharply differentiate the characters of hyper-organized Hazel, affably flirty Robin, and free-spirited disrupter Rose.<\/p>\n

All three scientists are surgically adept at needling each other\u2019s psychic sore spots in witty, articulate sparring reminiscent of\u00a0Who\u2019s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?<\/em>\u00a0Between the script\u2019s sophisticated vocabulary, innuendos, and overlapping lines of dialogue, there\u2019s room for further fine tuning where some of the punchlines land.<\/p>\n

Never in doubt, however, are the complicated emotions and currents of genuine affection driving the characters. Expertly-timed visual jolts \u2014 a plumbing mishap here, a clothing malfunction there\u2014ratchet up the stakes at key transitional moments as Rose gradually unveils her darker purpose.<\/p>\n

Born in 1983, Kirkwood wrote\u00a0The Children<\/em>\u00a0from a Millennial\u2019s perspective on preceding generations\u2019 failed stewardship of the planet and the diminishing resources available to their descendants. The play\u2019s indictment of stubborn Boomer self-interest is succinctly summed up in Robin\u2019s petulant protest that \u201cI don\u2019t want to live with less. It\u2019s hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Rose persists in steering her former co-workers towards recognition of their (and our own) shared complicity in the state of things. There\u2019s a tough-minded glimmer of hope in her proposed path to help balance the scales, but it will take more than bringing our own bags to the supermarket.<\/p>\n

Ensemble Theatre Company at the New Vic; 33 W. Victoria Street, Santa Barbara; Wed. & Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat, 8 p.m.; Sun.., 2 p.m.;\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/etcsb.org\/production\/The-children\/<\/em><\/strong><\/a>; Running Time: Approx. 2 hours with no intermission.<\/em><\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”902″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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