The Children at Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith Review
Kerry Fox, Meera Syal and Declan Conlon in The Children. Photo: Helen Maybanks.
The warm lighting inside the house cannot quite conceal the deep blue of the night outside (Anna Watson). Two women, neither of them young, occupy the space. One sits at the table, her face tense with alarm, whilst the other leans against the doorway, smoking. She gazes out towards the sea, leaving her expression obscured. Outside, the clouds seem like waves that have surged up into the sky. Looming over the cottage, the sea and the sky is a vast nuclear reactor tunnel, standing there with such cold indifference as if its presence is almost entirely unremarkable (Gary McCann). Looking at this image, I found myself holding my breath. This is a scene from The Children, written by Lucy Kirkwood and directed by Rachel O’Riordan, the theatre’s Artistic Director. Ten years after its premiere, the play has arrived at Lyric Hammersmith, stirring up a storm through the most natural of language.
Hazel (Meera Syal) and Robin (Declan Conlon) are a retired couple who once worked as nuclear scientists. The world outside has been devastated by a nuclear accident, and they live in a secluded cottage by the sea, on the edge of a radiation exclusion zone. Although life has long since departed from what it once was, the two of them continue to construct a semblance of normality in their own ways. That is, until one evening, when Rose (Kerry Fox), a former friend and colleague whom they have not seen for more than thirty years, appears at their door. Her arrival brings not only secrets from the past and the complicated relationships between the three of them, but also a deeply troubling request. It forces them to confront a question: should the older generation take responsibility for the young?
At first glance, their conversations seem to concern nothing more than trivial everyday matters. But listen closely, and beneath the surface, one can almost see the fractured world outside the house, as well as glimpses of their painful yet beautiful past. Kirkwood’s language is bold and vivid. In her hands, even the most mundane things become interesting. And often, words are not necessary at all. The characters’ actions reveal the relationships between them with complete clarity. The play contains moments when all three are together on stage, but there is also plenty of time when two characters are left alone in the same room. In these moments, the expressions and actions they reveal, which remain unseen when all three are together, make one want to savour every detail.
Syal’s Hazel is intensely self-disciplined, almost obsessive in her habits, and possesses a slightly sardonic sense of humour. Of the three, she is the one who clings most tightly to normality. Conlon’s Robin is far more easy-going. He brings a warm and friendly energy, yet at times displays a childlike immaturity and a tendency to flirt with women. Fox’s Rose is bold and daring. At times, she seems to possess an almost manic energy, but it is an energy that is deeply captivating and extraordinarily infectious. What makes their already brilliant chemistry even more compelling is their familiarity with one another. I never once doubted that they had been friends for many years. The three of them are almost like a family. Despite their grievances and conflicts, they love one another, and, more than that, they know each other extraordinarily well. Even after being furious with one another only moments before, they can suddenly dance and laugh together to the music a few minutes later. After one has just slapped another across the face, seeing them embrace each other tightly only seconds later feels entirely natural.
Yet this seemingly contradictory behaviour is not simply a result of their familiarity with one another. It is also shaped by the environment in which they live. Past grievances and entanglements become insignificant in the face of an almost apocalyptic predicament, and even their somewhat extreme attitudes towards life seem understandable. To express such complex emotions with such naturalness is, in itself, a testament to the skill of the playwright, director and actors. I am not certain whether the choice for older people to take responsibility for the younger generation is the best conclusion. But the fact that this play can provoke thought through conversations that are almost entirely everyday in nature, and make us want to enter into the inner lives of its three characters, is already a tremendous success.
The Children plays at Lyric Hammersmith until 3rd October 2026.
★★★★
Written by Ziwen for Theatre and Tonic, September 2026.