THE CHILDREN

About the show

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE Three of Australia’s most beloved and revered actors join forces in a provocative new drama. Experience the incomparable Pamela Rabe, Sarah Peirse and William Zappa in this “powerful play that makes you reflect on big questions" (The Age). The Children has been an enormous hit on London and New York stages, engrossing audiences and attracting immense critical acclaim. Playwright Lucy Kirkwood is one of the world’s most exciting young playwrights, heralded as “the most rewarding dramatist of her generation” (The Independent, UK). This beautifully written play tackles timely themes of social responsibility inside an intriguing tale of old friends who face a frightening proposition. In an idyllic cottage on the British coast, two retired nuclear scientists, Hazel and Robin, are enjoying the quiet life. Nearby, a nuclear power plant has been torn apart by a Fukushima-like natural disaster. Electricity is being rationed, you need a Geiger counter to go outside. The world is in chaos. Hazel and Robin are trying to go about their life of yoga and farming as though nothing has changed. But everything shifts when an old friend, Rose, knocks on their door. Something doesn’t feel right… the fallout will be unpredictable. The Children introduces us to this trio of characters in a witty and touching story that rumbles with big questions about how we live. What responsibility do we have for this planet? What do we want to leave behind for our children? Directed by Sarah Goodes (Disgraced) and designed by STC Resident Designer Elizabeth Gadsby (Cloud Nine), this brilliant night out at Sydney Opera House brings together “three fine actors, one clever set and a whip-smart script” (The Daily Telegraph).