Lungs at Circa Theatre

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PLAY OF LOVE IN A TIME OF GLOBAL ANXIETY STAGED AT CIRCA

THEATRE (WELLINGTON PREMIERE)

It is the most beautiful, quietly shattering play of the year.

***** [FIVE STARS] Sunday Express

KEY INFO
LUNGS – by Duncan Macmillan
Directed by Dean Hewison
Produced by Show Pony
Starring Aidee Walker, Arthur Meek
Lighting Design by Glenn Ashworth
Sound Design by Emi Pogoni
Circa Theatre, 1 Taranaki St WELLINGTON
22 Oct – 19 Nov 2016 (Preview 21 Oct)
Buy tickets through CIRCA
www.circa.co.nz
Phone 04 801 7992

“I could fly to New York and back every day for seven years and still not leave a carbon footprint as big as if I have a child. Ten thousand tonnes of CO2. That’s the weight of the Eiffel Tower. I’d be giving birth to the Eiffel Tower.”

A new production from Circa Theatre asks if bringing a baby into today’s world of over-population, global warming, and political unrest is the right thing to do for our planet.

Written by critically acclaimed British playwright Duncan Macmillan, LUNGS is a hilarious and moving story about love in unstable times, as a young couple tries to decide their future. Thirty-something, educated and thoughtful, they are running out of time to have the child (they think) they (probably) want. But with the world falling apart, how can you justify bringing a kid into it? And what will destruct first - the planet or their relationship? With strict instructions from the playwright that there is to be no set, props, or costume changes, and lighting or sound mustn’t be used to convey the passage of time, LUNGS is a raw theatre piece that pulls the focus onto the incredibly insightful script and the two performers on stage charged with delivering it.

In a case of art imitating life, husband and wife team Dean Hewison and Adrianne Roberts will be bringing LUNGS to Wellington. They saw the play in Edinburgh Festival Fringe and were immediately drawn to the clever script and the utter believability of the characters. “Adrianne saw the show before me and said I should really get along. Some of what I saw on stage eerily echoed conversations we’ve had, and some of it echoed thoughts I’d kept to myself”, says Dean who is directing the Wellington premiere. “Both of us agreed that it’s a play that needs to be seen, and the idea of us working on it together is exciting to us both.”

This hilarious and profound play by Macmillan (who also wrote this year’s NZ Festival hit Every Brilliant Thing) has played to sell-out audiences in Edinburgh, London, Melbourne and around the world. Performers Arthur Meek (Hillary Clinton / Young Lover) and Aidee Walker (TV’s Step Dave) are cast as the young couple, with this being Aidee’s Circa debut.

A play about a relationship trying to survive on a crumbling planet, LUNGS is much more than just eco-warrior propaganda. This heartfelt, honest, funny and bare theatrical piece brims with dark humour, raw emotion and confronting questions for our generation.

BIOGRAPHIES

Dean Hewison | Director
Dean is a writer and director for film and theatre. His work includes the award-winning musical Jingles, Conversations (With My Penis), the feature film How to Meet Girls From a Distance, and the upcoming films Judgment Tavern and the adaptation of On the Conditions and Possibilities of Hillary Clinton Taking Me as Her Young Lover.

Show Pony | Producer
www.showponynz.com
Show Pony is a creative stable that holds some of Aotearoa’s finest independent arts performances, led by Producer Adrianne Roberts. Founded in 2012 and one of two producers funded by Creative New Zealand, Show Pony has produced over 15 award-winning productions, touring many both domestically and internationally. Recent Circa hits include The Pianist, The Demolition of the Century, Hillary Clinton / Young Lover and children’s works Beards! Beards! Beards! and Caterpillars as part of the Capital E National Arts Festival for Children.

Aidee Walker | Performer
Aidee has worked consistently in New Zealand film, theatre and television for the past decade, and is perhaps best known for her acting role as Draska in the popular New Zealand television series Outrageous Fortune and now Jen on Step Dave.
After returning to New Zealand from years living, performing and studying abroad, Aidee began to make the transition into writing and directing film. In 2012 her role in the film How to Meet Girls from a Distance earned her a Moa nomination for Best Supporting Actress and in 2013 she was nominated for Best Short Film and Best Actress for Friday Tigers. She is currently developing a TV series, Animals, while her third short film, Break In The Weather, is in production.

Arthur Meek | Performer
www.arthurmeek.com, @arthurmeek
Arthur creates delightfully enterprising work for all kinds of stages, platforms and screens. His plays include On the Upside Down of the World and Charles Darwin: Collapsing Creation. He recently lived in the USA as the Harriet Friedlander New York Resident. He has most recently been working with Scottish company magneticnorth.org.uk on a modern adaptation of Samuel Butler’s Erewhon.

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