A Love Triangle Points To A Larger World Off Kilter In THE CHILDREN

Studio Theatre concludes its 40th Anniversary Season Main Series productions with the DC premiere of playwright Lucy Kirkwood's urgent and unsettling eco-thriller The Children, directed by Studio Artistic Director David Muse. Inspired in part by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear explosion in Japan, Kirkwood's disaster drama begins as an old love triangle flaring to life in the aftermath of a natural disaster and morphs into a disquieting look at the cataclysmic impact of human intervention in the natural world. The Children deepens Muse's relationship with Kirkwood's work he directed the US premiere of her Olivier Award-winning epic play Chimerica in 2015.

After directing Lucy Kirkwood's Chimerica, I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Children. She approaches climate change with a nuanced and human story she forgoes science or policy, at least directly, said Muse. It's a disarming and effective way to look at the ideas that animate the play: what we owe to each other during precarious moments, human interventions into the natural world, and the kind of responsibility we bear to future generations.

In their remote cottage on the British coast, a long-married pair of retired nuclear physicists live a modest life in the aftermath of a natural disaster, giving scrupulous care to energy rationing, their garden, their yoga practice. When former colleague Rose reappears after 38 years, her presence upends the couple's equilibrium and trust. As the fallout from long-ago decisions comes hurtling into view, Rose unveils a proposal that threatens more than their marriage. A hit in London and New York, Lucy Kirkwood's latest is a taut and disquieting thriller about responsibility and reparation what one generation owes the next.

In 2009, Lucy Kirkwood's play it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now was produced by Clean Break Theatre Co. at the Arcola Theatre, London. The play was nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Best Newcomer and made her joint winner of the John Whiting Award (2010). NSFW premiered at the Royal Court, starring Janie Dee and Julian Barrett, in 2012. Chimerica premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2013 and subsequently transferred to the West End, earning the Best New Play at the 2014 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards, as well as the Critics Circle Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Recent work includes The Children, which premiered at the Royal Court in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017, and Mosquitoes, presented by special arrangement with Manhattan Theatre Club, which opened at the National Theatre in 2017. Lucy also writes for television. She has written for Skins (Company Pictures), created and wrote The Smoke (Kudos/Sky 1), and is currently writing a mini-series of her play Chimerica for Playground Productions. She also wrote and directed the short film The Briny and is developing projects with Clio Barnard and Lenny Abrahamson.

David Muse is in his ninth season as Artistic Director of Studio Theatre, where he has directed The Remains, The Effect, The Father, Constellations, Chimerica, Murder Ballad, Belleville, Cock, Tribes, The Real Thing, An Iliad, Dirt, Bachelorette, The Habit of Art, Venus in Fur, Circle Mirror Transformation, reasons to be pretty, Blackbird, Frozen, and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. Previously, he was Associate Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, where he directed seven productions, including Henry V, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus, King Charles III (a co-production with ACT and Seattle Rep), and Richard III. Other directing projects include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Arena Stage), The Bluest Eye (Theatre Alliance), and Patrick Page's Swansong (New York Summer Play Festival). He has helped to develop new work at numerous theatres, including New York Theatre Workshop, Geva Theatre Center, Arena Stage, New Dramatists, and The Kennedy Center. David has taught acting and directing at Georgetown, Yale, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy of Classical Acting. An eight-time Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Direction, he is a recipient of the DC Mayor's Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist and the National Theatre Conference Emerging Artist Award. David is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale School of Drama.

Location: 1501 14th Street NW (northeast corner of 14th and P Streets).

Parking: Studio has a parking partnership with Washington Plaza Hotel at 10 Thomas Circle NW, three blocks south of Studio; patrons who park at the hotel's parking garage can purchase a $13 voucher at the Box Office. Street parking is extremely limited; arrive early to increase your options.
Metro Stops: Red Line: Dupont Circle, Orange/Blue Lines: McPherson Square, and Green/ Yellow Lines: U Street/Cardozo.
Accessibility:??Studio's theatres are all wheelchair accessible; seats are available by reservation. Assistive listening devices are available for all shows at the Box Office. Call the Box Office at 202.332.3300 for more information.?