“Lungs” Director's Note by Elizabeth Price

Our production of LUNGS spans 50 years, 2011-2061. As that time elapses, in Duncan Macmillan’s world, the planet slowly succumbs to the disasters brought on by climate change. By the last scene of the play, much of the earth has burned, ash falls from the sky and coats familiar surfaces each day, and chaos and unrest is the norm.

In the midst of this, a couple lives. They ask the question so many ask themselves, “Should we have a baby?” They weigh the arguments, they deliberate, they decide. And so begins their personal roller coaster.

The dilemma of whether we should keep on loving and keep on bringing children into the world is one this couple does not take lightly. I will say that love moves them, shapes them, and in many ways, decides for them.

In the end, they offer us this: The breath of a child is the breath of the planet. And that is for the good and the ill. There is no separating any of it.