The Children by Black Swan State Theatre Company

Caroline Brazier, Nicola Bartlett in The Children by Black Swan State Theatre Company
Photo Credit: Philip Gostelow

As my partner and I entered through the doors of the State Theatre Centre of WA, the foyer was abuzz with patrons heading upstairs to watch the opening night of The Children by Black Swan State Theatre Company.

The story line of The Children revolves around elderly couple Hazel (Nicola Bartlett) and Robin (Humphrey Bower) – seemingly enjoying their idyllic days in retirement at their country cottage after having long and successful careers as nuclear scientists at the power plant up the road.

But all is not as it seems – as their working life ended abruptly with a freak giant wave that hit and wrecked the power plant and led them to get away from it all.

An unexpected visit from ex-colleague Rose (Caroline Brazier) brings back memories too vividly of events that occurred before it all turned into disaster.

The Children is a captivating and thought provoking piece – it is dear to the heart and reflective of the times that we live in (in the name of so called progress), amidst the devastating consequences of our actions for future generations and a stark reality and reminder of the fallout our children might have to face.

As we watched the action on the set, the story line pulsed with adrenaline, akin to the drip feed of liquid from a needle into your veins – slowly entering your body with little symptoms of its devastating effects until it is too late.

Clocking in at 1 hour 40 minutes (with no interval), Director Mel Cantwell and playwright Lucky Kirkwood’s drama keeps the audience on the edge of their seats till its climatic ending.

A slew of conflicts and moral dilemmas face the main characters in this play. Flip it like a coin – heads or tails – which will choose if you had to decide between your own shortened mortality or that of your children?

Riveting contemporary theatre at its best.

The Children is on at the Heath Ledger Theatre of the State Theatre Centre of WA until the 15 September.

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