Photograph: Helen Maybanks
007 – Lungs, by Duncan Macmillan
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A young couple navigate the age-old debate of whether or when to embark on having a baby. They are naturally worried about their personal responsibilities, but most topically they are also concerned about the impact that their adding to the global population will have on the world’s climate and future.
Duncan Macmillan’s award-winning play written in 2011, was revived at the Old Vic in 2019 with Claire Foy and Matt Smith conducting the debate. They will shortly reprise their roles via the Old Vic’s innovative in Camera live stream for a limited run from 26th June. Joining us to review the ongoing debate is George Spender, former editorial director at Oberon Books who publish Lungs and the playwright’s other plays.
George Spender
George Spender, was the Editorial Director at specialist drama publisher, Oberon Books, where he was responsible for publishing many of the leading British playwrights of the past decade, including Laura Wade, Tanika Gupta, Lemn Sissay, Simon Stone, Robert Icke, Barney Norris, Alice Birchall, among hundreds of others.
Most importantly for our episode, Oberon publish all of Duncan Macmillan’s plays, including Lungs. More recently George has worked for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has launched a new publishing company, called Salamander Street, which specialises in new dramatic writing and theatre in education.
Recommended Play
George recommended Mr Burns by Anne Washburn.
We have footnotes for this episode …
More observations about the play and the Old Vic In Camera performance with Claire Foy and Matt Smith that was broadcast live from 26th June 2020.
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Brian Friel’s magical memory play Dancing at Lughnasa is set at the time of the harvest festival in rural Ireland in 1936. It’s account of the events of that summer in the house of the five unmarried Mundy sisters is filtered many years later through the memory of Michael, the son of the youngest sister. His memory is undoubtedly unreliable, but it is also funny, poetic and profoundly poignant.
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