There is no dazzling set. There are no props. There are no costume changes. There is no intermission. There is no transition time between scenes. There is no break between dialogue. There is no time to breathe!
And it is exactly as this play is meant to be.
The play is “Lungs” by Duncan Macmillan, and it is a bold choice to kick off Ensemble Theater’s 44th season, the company now setting up shop at the Notre Dame College Performing Arts Center in South Euclid.
And it literally takes your breath away, as the actors grapple with real-life inner conflicts forced upon us by our ever-evolving, overpopulated and climate-endangered world.
At the heart of the struggle is the question of whether a young couple, listed merely as M and W, should have a child, knowing that it would be one more person to contribute to draining the planet of its resources.
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As the lights come up, W is already reacting to M’s offstage question about having a baby. She is in freak-out mode, and she feels like she is under a microscope as M pushes her to have a potentially life-altering conversation … while in line at IKEA. That is the first of many laughs, jarringly juxtaposed with serious moments, often with absolutely no time between a shift in mood, thought or even time itself.
But life is like that sometimes, isn’t it? That is why this play works.
As audience members, we are put through our paces along with the characters as they “unravel and excavate previously held beliefs and assumptions.” And we can relate to the fact that, often, when we try to sort things out in our heads or talk things out aloud, it feels almost manic as we fly from one dark thought to the next — or one exhilarating idea to a belly laugh.
This play makes us acutely aware that life is never stagnant. Relationships constantly grow, together and apart, with the littlest and the biggest things affecting them. The world is forever progressing, but progress also leads to the big global issues looming large over people’s heads, especially young people’s.
We are reminded, too, as we often are, that life is precious and time is fleeting.
These issues and so many more are tossed and turned by the only two actors in this very wordy show. The incessant dialogue will make your head spin but in an evocative way. And there are not many moments of this 85-minute play that are not relevant. Macmillan’s script is mostly meat and few bones.
And director Becca Moseley allows her actors to add their own color to every word. She also brings the script to life as Macmillan’s stage directions align with his minimalistic approach, leaving the creativity and interpretation up to the play’s directors and actors.
Katie Simón Atkinson and Rob Grant III play W and M, respectively. They somehow don’t miss a beat in terms of dialogue, chemistry, the push-pull necessary to keep the audience on its toes, the care with which they deliver the most-fragile lines and the chutzpah with which they drop the bombs.
Atkinson is fierce in the way she allows W to face and embrace every fear and shout each one out loud. She is natural and easily rides the wave of highs and lows. She proudly wears the badge of the talker and, in fact, rivals any fast-talking “Gilmore Girls” character, which is saying a lot.
It is hard not to be drawn to Grant’s open, expressive face. As much as he shares a hefty portion of the dialogue, he is the listener, which carries an awesome weight of responsibility for an actor, and he assumes that role perfectly. He easily navigates through a range of attitudes: supportive, fed-up, insecure, judgmental — the list goes on, and he embodies them all.
Their chemistry bubbles under the surface in a greater way because of Moseley’s intentional choice to keep the two actors physically apart much of the time, emphasizing the chasm that sometimes exists between their characters, in spite of the sexual tension they generate.
“Lungs” debuted in 2011, and the issues at the center of the story are not only still relevant more than a decade later, but they are even more dire.
While there are plenty of laughs, it is an intense and in some ways exhausting theatrical experience that may not be everyone’s cup of chai. However,It is an important piece of theater, and it is handled correctly and done well by Ensemble Theater.
‘Lungs’
A production by Ensemble Theatre, it continues through Sept. 24 at the Notre Dame College Performing Arts Center, 4545 College Road, South Euclid. For tickets, $15 to $35, call 216-321-2930 or visit EnsembleTheatreCle.org.
