Writer Lucy Kirkwood received great acclaim for The Children when it premiered at The Royal Court in London. It won the 2018 Writer’s Guild for Best Play and nominated for a Tony Award. It was in The Guardian’s top 3 Best theatre shows of the 21st century 2019. It’s gone on to be performed around the world as a thought-provoking and timely reminder that human actions have significant consequences. Not just for today but also tomorrow’s generations.

Nottingham Playhouse deserves particular credit for this production which is their first show on the main stage made to Theatre Green Book Standards. Part of the Playhouse’s commitment to achieving Net Carbon Zero by 2032.

Amy Jane Cook’s clever set reinforces a sense of the mundane and ordinary but all slightly out of kilter. At first it appears to be a comfortable and recognisable environment drawing the audience in. Light is beautifully used to show the passing of time in this domestic environment as the play unfolds over a single evening.

Under the direction of Kirsty Patrick Ward The Children has great pace. Making the most of the script which is both dramatic and darkly funny.

At first it appears that this is a domestic drama exploring the lives of Hazel (Caroline Harker) and Robin (Clive Mantle), retired living in a cottage on the east coast. They listen to Radio 4 and Hazel never misses a day of yoga practice.

But then you realise that their existence is far from cosy – electricity is rationed and there’s a Geiger Counter on hand to check radiation levels. They live just outside the exclusion zone of a nuclear disaster.

Rose (Sally Dexter), a colleague from their past unexpectedly arrives at their door. There’s parsnip wine, reminiscing, laughter along with some pointed jibes as they talk about their lives which followed different paths.

All three performances are very strong. The air positively crackles and fizzes as Hazel and Rose verbally joust. The script is demanding with its complex rhythms and timing. No subjects are off limits – children, aging and relationships. There’s much empathetic laughter, particularly from women in the audience, as Hazel and Rose muse on ageing and what it means for them. It becomes clear that there is a backstory around Rose and Robin’s relationship.

There’s a warmth to Caroline Harker’s performance whilst Sally Dexter‘s Rose has a brittle veneer of strength which you feel could shatter at any point. Clive Mantle gives Robin an assured easy charm that slowly unravels into uncertainty and despair. The dynamic between the three is prickly at times but reveals their close history. There’s laughter and tears which ultimately leads to a dramatic decision.

There’s a bigger drama here than just the relationships between this trio of people. There’s been a terrible accident at the power station where all three used to work as nuclear engineers. Inspired by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear explosion in Japan the play is both epic and intimate.

The Children explores big questions around whether nuclear is safe, the environmental crisis, aging and even whether to have children with both humour and humanity. Ultimately the core question at the heart of this play is whether one generation is responsible for the impact of their actions on the next. Should they take responsibility and action? Questions very relevant today given the climate crisis facing us all. The themes from this thought-provoking play along with Hazel, Rose and Robin will stay with you long after you’ve left the theatre.