Lungs

The Story:

Duncan Macmillan’s Lungs is an intense, minimalist two-hander that follows a young, educated couple as they grapple with the ethical and emotional complexities of bringing a child into a world facing environmental collapse. Stripped of sets, costumes, and lighting cues, the play unfolds as a singular, breathless conversation spanning years, capturing the raw anxiety of a generation paralyzed by “overthinking” their carbon footprint versus their primal desire to procreate. As their relationship weathers pregnancy, loss, and the inevitable passage of time, the play evolves from a sharp, witty debate about global responsibility into a poignant exploration of the enduring, messy nature of human love.”

Director’s Note

Lungs by Duncan Macmillan is a two-person play that is perfectly suited for a staged reading (or readers theatre). The author specifically states there is to be no set, no props, no special effects — just two people working through their relationship in a totally exposed narrative. The dialog is biting and funny and truthful, and the author plays tricks with chronology, shifting swiftly among past, present, and future, from young romantic love through separations and renewals to old age. I think the audience is required to pay attention to the spoken words rather than a clever set or neat props.

Fortunately we have two splendid actors who have the chops to pull this off: Scott Ganyo as Man, and Amanda Megyesi-McCave as Woman. Scott has acted at Theatre West in “Marjorie Prime,” “Popcorn Falls,” and “Misery.” Amanda was in “Outside Mullingar,” and she directed “Almost, Maine” and “Misery.” They have a wonderful sense of rhythm and timing necessary for this kind of dialog. They bring an understanding of how huge moral and environmental issues affect small individual lives: abortion, global climate changes, cultural upheaval, governmental decisions.

Lungs is described by the publisher as “a smart and funny drama that follows a couple through the surprising lifecycle of their relationship, as they grapple with questions of family and change, hope, betrayal, happenstance, and the terrible pain that you can only cause the people you love.” But my favorite description comes from an article in the Time Out London publication: Lungs is “a joyously absurd hour of verbal fireworks.”