Lungs By Duncan Macmillan -

Duncan Macmillan has written a play for our age of anxiety. It is small in scale (two people, no props) but infinite in scope (the entire future of the human race).

M (the man) does the math out loud. He calculates the carbon footprint of a single human life. He counts the flights, the plastic nappies, the energy consumption. He spirals: “Having a child is the single worst thing you can do for the planet.” lungs by duncan macmillan

There are plays that entertain you, plays that distract you, and then there are plays that grab you by the sternum and refuse to let go. Duncan Macmillan’s Lungs falls squarely into the last category. Duncan Macmillan has written a play for our age of anxiety

At first glance, the setup sounds almost deceptively simple. A man and a woman—simply named W and M—stand in a bare space (no set, no props, just two microphones). They are in an IKEA. They are having a tense, whisper-argument about whether to have a child. She wants one. He is terrified. But within ten minutes, you realize this isn't a play about baby names or nursery colors. It is a terrifying, beautiful, and devastatingly honest calculus of love, guilt, and the planet we are leaving behind. He calculates the carbon footprint of a single human life

Because the stage is empty, the actors have to build the entire world with their words and breath. They simulate sex, push imaginary trolleys, and age decades in a single blackout.