Winner of the 2021 Platform Presents Playwright’s Prize, Nuclear Children is written and performed by Ezra England, 2022 winner of both the Roundhouse Poetry Slam Judge’s and its Audience Award, and is directed by Seán Linnen (Director, Queers, Old Vic; Associate Director, Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, Harold Pinter Theatre).
This absurd and deeply human production follows Isla as she battles with grief and strives to find her identity as an adult. Following the death of her father, Isla is struggling to cope; plagued with intrusive thoughts and her deteriorating mental health, she runs away to university in the hope of staying sane. As she finally begins to find her feet, her world, quite literally, stops making sense and Isla is left drowning in the unsaid. This dark comedy is about mental health, a submarine accident, and a melon.
Nuclear Children describes the eloquent confusion of trying to process devastating loss and the absurd mundanity of mourning when life doggedly goes on. With stunning lyricism, Ezra England dives for the humour that always lurks and showcases how often that will be what keeps you afloat, even in dark times. This is not simply a play about grief, but a play about love, honesty and human connection.
Seán Linnen comments, It’s rare and thrilling to read a play like Nuclear Children. Ezra’s writing unravels the loneliness of grief, the pain of having a brain that plays tricks on you, and the heartache of a devastating rupture to a family unit. It is a raucous, mischievous and deeply moving debut, and I’m delighted to bring it to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this Summer.
