Press Releases

Seattle, WA (January 9, 2020) – Seattle Rep welcomes back director Tim Bond and a cast of Seattle veteran actors for its production of Lucy Kirkwood’s post-apocalyptic drama The Children, beginning February 7 in the Leo K. Theater.

The Children centers on married nuclear engineers Robin and Hazel, who have retired to a secluded cottage on the British coast. Their quiet daily routines are largely uninterrupted by the cataclysmic decay outside their door—the harrowing effects of a nuclear meltdown at their former worksite. When an old colleague arrives unexpectedly, they’re forced to grapple with the roles they’ve played. Echoing the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan in 2011, Lucy Kirkwood’s haunting drama portrays a world far too close to our own. Filled with barbed witticisms and existential quandaries, The Children is a compelling story of mortality and environmental legacy. It premiered in the West End in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017, where it was a Tony Award nominee for Best Play.

“The Children centers on a question that we are all struggling to answer,” said Seattle Rep’s Artistic Director Braden Abraham. “What is our responsibility to the planet and to those we leave behind? The play grapples with profound, political ideas in a searingly personal way. It’s an astonishing and thought-provoking story that lingers long after you leave the theater.”

The full cast for The Children includes R. Hamilton Wright (Robin), Jeanne Paulsen (Hazel), and Carmen Roman (Rose). The creative team includes William Bloodgood (Scenic Designer), Melanie Burgess (Costume Designer), Geoff Korf (Lighting Designer), Michael Keck (Sound Designer & Composer), and Michael B. Paul (Stage Manager).

Lucy Kirkwood (Playwright) is an acclaimed playwright and screenwriter. In 2009, Lucy’s play It Felt Empty When the Heart Went at First But It Is Alright Now was produced by Clean Break Theatre Company at the Arcola Theatre. The play was nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Best Newcomer and made Lucy joint winner of the 2010 John Whiting Award. NSFW premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012, starring Janie Dee and Julian Barratt. Chimerica premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2013 and subsequently transferred to the West End, earning Best New Play at the 2014 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards, as well as the Critics Circle Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Recent work includes Mosquitoes (presented by special arrangement with Manhattan Theatre Club), which opened at the National Theatre, London, in summer 2017; and The Children, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2016. The Children opened on Broadway in December 2017. Lucy also writes for screen: she has written for “Skins” (Company Pictures); created and wrote “The Smoke” (Kudos/Sky 1); wrote and directed the short film The Briny; and is developing projects with Raw TV, Cowboy Films, Clio Barnard, and Lenny Abrahamson. Her new six-part season “Adult Material” (Tiger Aspect Productions) and the mini-series of her play Chimerica (Playground Productions) have both recently been greenlit.

Tim Bond (Director) is thrilled to return to Seattle Rep for this production The Children. Tim previously directed August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Fences for Seattle Rep. Bond was recently named the Incoming Artistic Director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. He will begin his new post in the Bay Area this summer after directing Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat for Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Tim is a nationally-known director and educator with past leadership roles as Producing Artistic Director at Syracuse Stage, Associate Artistic Director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Artistic Director at Seattle Group Theatre, and tenured full Professor and Head of the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington School of Drama. Over the last 35 years, Tim has directed at many theaters including The Market Theatre (Johannesburg), Baxter Theatre Centre (Cape Town), Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis), Milwaukee Rep, The Wilma Theater (Philadelphia), Arena Stage (D.C.), GEVA Theatre Center (Rochester), Cleveland Play House, Indiana Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, PCPA (Santa Maria), Arizona Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Seattle Rep, A Contemporary Theatre (Seattle), Empty Space Theatre (Seattle), Paul Robeson Theatre, and Seattle Children’s Theatre. He is the recipient of two Backstage West Garland Awards, two Syracuse Area Live Theatre (SALT) Awards, and a Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Forum Award. Tim received his BFA in Dramatic Arts from Howard University and his MFA in Directing from the University of Washington.

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