(Lenox, MA) – Shakespeare & Company presents Critics Circle and Susan Smith Blackburn Award-winning playwright Lucy Kirkwood’s timely play The Children, directed by James Warwick, back for his second season with the Company after last season’s acclaimed Mothers and Sons. The Children runs from July 18 to August 18 in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, and was a 2018 Tony Award Best Play nominee. With searing insight and comic flair, Kirkwood invites audiences to grapple with an age-old question, “what about the children?”
“The Children deals with pressing issues surrounding environmental change with extraordinary insight, compassion and humor,” says Director James Warwick. “The three characters in the play explore, personally and professionally, how they can contribute to a safer environment for generations to come.”
The play follows two retired physicists who have taken shelter in a borrowed cottage off The English coast, coping with the aftermath of a nuclear power plant accident. Quite suddenly, an unexpected visitor arrives from their past. The story unfolds with fascinating twists and humor amongst three long-time friends who share a guarded history and a passion for life in the face of glaring reminders of its fragility.
“Kirkwood’s play is a revelation and inspiration for those of us concerned with climate change,” continued Warwick. “But it is also about the child in us all who feels overwhelmed and powerless in the face of such daunting challenges. She asks complex questions in her play but does so through an intriguing story line and richly drawn, recognizable relationships. It’s an inspiring story about the resolve of the human spirit in the face of great adversity.”
The production is generously sponsored by the Claudia K. Perles Family Foundation, and will feature three familiar faces to the Shakespeare & Company stage, Ariel Bock (Rose), Jonathan Epstein (Robin), and Diane Prusha (Hazel). The creative team includes Sandy Cleary (Stage Manager), Sarah Woolf (Assistant Stage Manager), Grace Eldred (Wardrobe), Patrick Brennan (Props Master & Set Designer), Deborah A. Brothers (Costume Designer), James W. Bilnoski (ME & Lighting Designer), Amy Altadonna (Sound Designer), and Caleb Harris (Associate Technical Director).
Tickets for The Children are available online at shakespeare.org, or by calling Shakespeare & Company’s box office at (413) 637-3353. The show runs from July 18 to August 18 in the Elayne P. Bernstein, Theatre which is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. Shakespeare & Company is located at 70 Kemble St. in Lenox, Massachusetts.
The Company’s 2019 Summer Season also includes four Shakespeare productions, The Taming of the Shrew , The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, and special workshop production of Coriolanus plus The Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, and Tony Award nominee, Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies.
AT A GLANCE:
PRODUCTION: The Children
PLAYWRIGHT: Lucy Kirkwood
DIRECTOR: James Warwick
STAGE MANAGER: Sandy Cleary
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER: Sarah Woolf
WARDROBE: Grace Eldred
PROPS MASTER & SET DESIGNER: Patrick Brennan
COSTUME DESIGNER: Deborah A. Brothers
ME & LIGHTING DESIGNER: James W. Bilnoski
SOUND DESIGNER: Amy Altadonna
ASSOCIATE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Caleb Harris
CAST MEMBERS:
Ariel Bock (Rose)
Jonathan Epstein (Robin)
Diane Prusha (Hazel)
SCHEDULE:
JULY
Thursday, July 18 – 7:30 PM (Preview)
Friday, July 19 – 3:00 PM (Preview)
Saturday, July 20 – 7:30 PM (Preview)
Sunday, July 21 – 3:00 PM (Opening)
Tuesday, July 23 – 7:30 PM
Wednesday, July 24 – 3:00 PM
Thursday, July 25 – 7:30 PM (Press Night)
Friday, July 26 – 3:00 PM
Saturday, July 27 – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 28 – 7:30 PM
Tuesday, July 30 – 7:30 PM
Wednesday, July 31 – 3:00 PM
AUGUST
Thursday, August 1 – 7:30 PM
Friday, August 2 – 3:00 PM
Saturday, August 3 – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 4 – 7:30 PM
Tuesday, August 6 – 7:30 PM
Wednesday, August 7 – 7:30 PM
Thursday, August 8 – 7:30 PM
Friday, August 9 – 7:30 PM
Saturday, August 10 – 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 11 – 3:00 PM
Tuesday, August 13 – 3:00 PM
Wednesday, August 14 – 3:00 PM
Thursday, August 15 – 7:30 PM
Friday, August 16 – 3:00 PM
Saturday, August 17 – 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 18 – 3:00 PM
About James Warwick
Second Season (Director, The Children) As a resident US theatre director since 1997, James has many regional and NYC productions to his credit. Last season James directed Shakespeare & Company’s production of Mothers and Sons. His training as an actor at the Royal Central School in London led to him playing leading roles in the West End and on Broadway and in several TV series for Masterpiece Theatre for BBC/PBS. He was an associate director at BTF and Chester in the Berkshires and for 7 years ran two of the oldest drama schools in the country while based in Los Angeles. He is the recipient of BAFTA, Spotlight, Helen Hayes, Dramalogue, Ovation and Berkshire Eagle awards. He lives in South Egremont, and became an American citizen in 2015. He recently directed several productions for the Theatre Department at Bard College at Simons Rock.
About Lucy Kirkwood
(Playwright, The Children) Lucy Kirkwood is a British playwright and screenwriter whos plays include The Children (Royal Court Theatre, 2016); Chimerica (Almeida Theatre and West End, 2013; winner of the 2014 Olivier Award for Best New Play, the 2013 Evening Standard Best Play Award, the 2014 Critics’ Circle Best New Play Award, and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize); NSFW (Royal Court, 2012); small hours (co-written with Ed Hime; Hampstead Theatre, 2011); Beauty and the Beast (with Katie Mitchell; National Theatre, 2010); Bloody Wimmin, as part of Women, Power and Politics (Tricycle Theatre, 2010) it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now (Clean Break and Arcola Theatre, 2009; winner of the 2012 John Whiting Award); Hedda (Gate Theatre, 2008); and Tinderbox (Bush Theatre, 2008). She won the inaugural Berwin Lee UK Playwrights Award in 2013.
About Shakespeare & Company
Located in the beautiful Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, Shakespeare & Company is one of the leading Shakespeare festivals of the world. Founded in 1978, the organization attracts over 40,000 patrons annually. The Company is also home to an internationally renowned Center for Actor Training and award-winning Education Program. More information is available at www.shakespeare.org.
Photos: The Children Rehearsal Photos
