A love triangle, sacrifice and redemption
Three retired nuclear physicists, enmeshed in a love triangle 38 years ago while building a nuclear-power station, grapple with age, responsibility, mortality and environmental disaster in “The Children.”
Red Herring Theater Company will present the Columbus premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s acclaimed play, which will open Aug. 26 at 3723 S. High St.
“This dystopian drama is really a love triangle ... and a cautionary tale of what happens when we don’t take responsibility for our actions,” said Artistic Director Michael Herring, who directs the play.
Inspired by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear explosion in Japan, the 100-minute one-act premiered in 2016 in London.
Critic Michael Billington, writing in “The Guardian,” praised the “genuinely disturbing” play for its “capacity to raise big issues... not simply about nuclear power but about the heavy price we may pay in the future for the profligacy of the present.”
On Broadway, where the play ran 2017-2018, “The Children” was nominated for a Tony award for best play.
In her “Variety” review, critic Marilyn Stasio praised the drama as “a talky but ultimately chilling play about ... reparation and redemption.”
Herring said he’s wanted to produce the play for some time because of its strong characters, environmentalist themes and metaphorical ending.
“It’s a very powerful drama that can stimulate dialogue in the community, but I also want audiences to empathize with the characters,” Herring said.
Set after a tsunami and earthquake cause a meltdown at a British nuclear power plant, “The Children” begins with an unexpected visit by Rose, a former coworker, to a remote cottage on the British coast where Hazel lives with her husband Robin.
“The dynamics of their relationship from so long ago – when Robin had a sexual relationship with both Hazel and Rose – resurface, stirring up old tensions with interesting twists,” Herring said.
But the play raises larger issues, too.
“Rose advocates that the three retired physicists, being older, sacrifice themselves by going in and turning off the power station so that young adults charged with that deadly task can live long lives,” Herring said.
The play’s title, he said, references those young-adult “children” and Hazel and Robin’s four adult children.
“The core debate is over the concept of sacrifice and ageism. When is it time for self-preservation, and when is it our moral duty to take responsibility for an action?” Herring said.
Josie Merkle, 73, plays Hazel. “Hazel is practical, organized and lives by the rules,” Merkle said.
“Rose is the exact opposite of Hazel. She eats whatever she wants to eat and does whatever she wants to do,” she said.
Hazel and Robin, married and bickering for 38 years, have their own unresolved issues.
“Why have they stayed together? Why haven’t they split up? The play explores what works and what doesn’t work in long-term relationships,” Merkle said.
The actress, whose husband Ned Merkle died in 2019 of liver cancer after 48 years of marriage, said she finds the play “cathartic” and deeply identifies with Hazel, whose husband has cancer.
“How does a person accept their mortality and say goodbye to the person they love? Hazel’s philosophy is that as long as you’re here, keep learning and growing,” Merkle said.
Harold Yarborough plays Robin. “Entrenched in his marriage... and aware he doesn’t have the game he used to have with women, he’s an older man coming to grips with mortality,” Yarborough said.
Both in personal and social themes, Kirkwood’s play resonates, Yarborough said.
“Robin has a chance to right a wrong,” he said. “When you get to the end of your life, you reassess.
‘The Children’ makes you think.” mgrossberg1@gmail.com