The Royal Court: The Children

The Children | Royal Court

Sorry, The Children’s run has now ended.

Being asked to write a play to close a season celebrating the 60th anniversary of new writing at a highly prestigious theatre seems like a task that nobody would be particularly confident stepping up to.

But as it turns out, Lucy Kirkwood.

And, as a result, she’s bringing her black humour and famously bold approach to sensitive subjects to The Royal Court this November – the theatre that has kickstarted the careers of writers like Samuel Beckett and David Hare, and even premiered The Rocky Horror Show to an audience of er, 63 back in the early seventies.

Kirkwood is one of Britain’s most talked-about emerging writers, having received rave reviews and winning the Olivier for Best New Play for the transfer of her packed-out production Chimerica in 2014. The Children is her latest offering, touching on the kind of bleak future she’s previously brought to life in Tinderbox at the Bush Theatre.

The play introduces us to two retired nuclear scientists who have fled their own lives in favour of a calm existence on “yogurt and yoga” in a cottage by the sea, while an uncertain world rages on in the cities. This idyll is rudely interrupted, however, when an old friend turns up and makes an unsettling request.

And trust us, that’s a bigger deal than it sounds.

Directed by James Macdonald – who premiered Sarah Kane’s famous baby-eating play, Blasted – the show promises to be an intriguing look at our uncertain future and the kind of world we’re leaving for our children.

But don’t worry. At least they still have yoga there.

NOTE: The Children has now finished – but fear not, there’s plenty more great London theatre shows on right now.

The Children | Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS