WHAT are the issues confronting people living near nuclear facilities?
What personal responsibilities could be forced upon us if things go wrong and radiation levels rise?
What of the “background radiation” of marital infidelities?
Can ordinary people, with their mundane faults cope with some of the biggest problems facing our society?
With nuclear submarines coming to Garden Island soon Perth residents will be dealing with such things, making Black Swan Theatre Company’s new production of The Children very timely.
By British playwright, Lucy Kirkwood, whose socially-committed works are world famous, The Children is set in an unnamed location near a failed nuclear power plant.
• With a nuclear waste storage facility approved for Garden Island just off Perth’s coast, Black Swan’s production of The Children is pretty timely.
Radioactive
It could be next to the controversial Sellafield plant in Britain, known for at least 21 serious accidental radioactive releases.
Greenpeace claims the Irish Sea is one of the world’s most heavily contaminated seas due to these discharges.
Or could it be Mandurah?
In the play, three retired nuclear scientists wrestle with their social responsibility and the legacy they leave for following generations.
Interwoven is the toxic element of their past personal failures.
Kirkwood drew inspiration from the Japanese volunteers who entered the Fukushima disaster zone to clean up the damaged plant.
They were elderly people, retired engineers and other experts who said that by the time radiation-induced cancers caught up with them they would be pretty close to death anyway.
They sacrificed themselves so that younger people could live.
Director Mel Cantwell says she loves the topicality of The Children.
She has maintained the story’s unspecified coastal location so that it does not lose its global significance.
“The power of Lucy Kirkwood’s work comes from both its social engagement and the believability of the characters.
“People can expect to be engaging with a humanist and believable examination of huge issues,” she said.
“This is a finely crafted play exploring complexities of family, friendship and morality.
“It tells a compelling story about the future but is firmly anchored in the present.
“The characters’ problems and bonds resonate.
“The play thoughtfully examines our social legacies, a topic that is ever more important in the context of current nuclear debates.”
The Children
Black Swan Theatre Company
Heath Ledger Theatre
August 24 to 15 September
by BARRY HEALY