Play Reading- The Children, by Lucy Kirkwood

Cast- Howard Runyon, Lia Loomis, Heather Clague Directed by Scott Renderer THE CHILDREN, by Lucy Kirkwood Hazel  and Robin, two retired nuclear scientists living in a coastal cottage  in the wake of a disaster at a local power station, seek to preserve a  semblance of normality. Even though electricity is rationed and a Geiger  counter is on hand to check for signs of radiation, Robin now farms,  the super-organised Hazel practices yoga and the pair keep in touch with  their eldest daughter. But when Rose, a fellow nuclear physicist  whom they haven’t seen for 38 years, suddenly turns up, their  precariously ordered existence is disrupted. Has Rose come to reignite  her old affair with Robin or does she have some darker purpose? We are  well into Kirkwood’s two-hour play before we have an answer. "A  far- reaching, unsettling play about legacy, survival, and  responsibility... Deceptively lightly written and often tartly funny...  Kirkwood tackles huge themes and poses tough, even shocking questions,  but weaves them into a droll script that both chastises and sympathizes  with her characters..." -Financial Times "Grips compulsively... Genuinely disturbing... Leaves you an abundance of ideas on which to ruminate." -The Guardian