THE CHILDREN

In 2017 Auckland-based Plumb Theatre couldn’t get the rights to stage the play The Children. Then the world’s youth started protesting about climate change and television series Chernobyl went nuclear.

That’s when theatre company founders Paul Gittins and David Aston remembered success is often about timing. The Children is the kind of erudite, taut and moral-compass swinging story that they like for its emotional and intellectual engagement. Which perhaps explains why, after its London debut in 2016, the play transferred to Broadway, where it was nominated for a Tony Award, before turning up in Melbourne and Sydney and then Canada, picking up major awards and nominations along the way.

Now it’s Auckland’s turn. Directed by Gittins, it stars Carmel Mcglone, Aston and Elizabeth Hawthorne in a story that asks do we really take seriously the idea that children are the future? And there’s a disaster at a nuclear power station which, given the success of HBO’S TV series Chernobyl, is bound to catch the attention.

As they say, the fallout will be unpredictable. The Children, Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, July 31-August 18 For full story, see nzherald.co.nz (Timeout entertainment, culture)