Downtown Dialogues is a live video podcast hosted by arts journalist Gail O’Neill in which Gail will talk to experts & special guests about different plays and their themes produced by Theatrical Outfit - Atlanta's Downtown Theatre.
GUESTS include Susan V Booth (Director of THE CHILDREN / Artistic Director of Alliance Theatre), Pam Longobardi (Visual Artist / GSU Professor Focused On The Impact of Global Consumption of Plastic), and Paul Root Wolpe (Director of Emory University’s Center for Ethics).
Music Credit: Raro Bueno by Chuzauzen & Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund
About THE CHILDREN: THE CHILDREN takes place in a cottage on the east coast of England, near a nuclear power station that has recently been destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami (similar to the Fukushima disaster). The disaster site is contaminating the surrounding countryside, and is threatening to leak into the sea. The cottage belongs to two retired nuclear engineers in their sixties, Hazel and Robin who are living as healthily as possible to try and prolong their lives. When Rose, an old friend and former colleague at the power station, suddenly re-enters their lives after 38 years, the couple is forced to confront their past. Robin and Rose’s affair rises to the surface, as well as each of their illnesses, and Hazel’s obsession with remaining healthy causes tension. Rose then reveals the reason for her visit: she wants them all to join a group of older scientists and engineers who will return to the power station to relieve the duties of the young clean-up crew, many of whom have young families and are at the beginning of their lives. Robin, who has already been venturing into the exclusion zone, quickly agrees, but Hazel initially refuses, saying her responsibility is to live for her children and grandchildren, but it is unclear what path she will follow. The play asks questions about the responsibility of an older generation to those that follow, and explores where personal rights end and societal obligations begin.
