REVIEW: ‘Lungs’ captures angst, fears of generation
Wednesday, May 30, 2012

By Bob Goepfert
The Record

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – “Lungs,” a regional premiere that is at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfiled, mass., is a truly superior production of a thoughtful, rambling work that is difficult to completely embrace but is impossible to forget.

Just when I thought that if I attended another two-character, one set, 90-minute play I would self-destruct – along comes a play like “Lungs” that makes me reevaluate my boredom with the form.

“Lungs,” which is at the St. Germain Theater of BSC through June 10, reveals much about its two young characters and by so doing it offers a microscopic look at an entire generation.

British playwright Duncan Macmillian is clearly a disciple of the profound Samuel Beckett. Likely he is influenced by other Brit writers like Harold Pinter for his verbal style and maybe even John Osborne for insight into the mind of young couples learning how to cope.

But influences aside, Macmillion is a fresh and original voice. Indeed, much of my excitement about “Lungs” has to do with experiencing an early play by a writer with so much potential. It is a remarkable achievement to create a work that so captures the angst, vagaries and fears of a generation and to express it in language that is both smart and confounding.

“Lungs” is about a couple deciding whether to have a baby. This is the leaping off point for them to discuss just about everything they fear in the world. And while the issue at hand is whether to bring a child into a dangerous world the play is really about the act of making a commitment to another human being. This transcends generations and makes the play appealing to all.

The characters have no names. They are simply labeled M and W. W is a classic case of paralysis by analysis. She over-thinks – almost to the point of tedium. Were it not for the truth of her convoluted stream of conscious statements – her circuitous logic and flip-flop behavior would be seriously annoying.

However thanks to a compelling, brilliant performance by Brooke Bloom who captures both the sincerity and insecurity of the woman, W stops just short of being a demanding and irritating shrew. Her flaws almost turn into virtues and you understand why M is willing to put aside part of his individuality to accommodate her emotional needs.

Ryan King has a much less flashy role as M as he mostly reacts to the ravings and mercurial mood swings of W. However, King is also brilliant as he creates a caring person who is wise enough to understand when to be the supportive partner and when to be a person who has to act in his own self-interests. When he is finally able to define himself through dialogue it is a beautiful, heartfelt moment.

Director Aaron Posner keeps the two characters in almost constant motion on the bare, starkly lit set letting the characters action mirror the quicksilver changes in the conversation. His direction is a third character in the production and is valuable. Thanks to Posner the take-themselves-too-seriously characters are as funny as they are concerned with problems about which they have no control.

Posner does not always hide the fact that “Lungs” is at times too talky. The work really doesn’t find dramatic validity until the final third of the piece. And though that drama wouldn’t be as effective without the background you do wish some true tension had been introduced earlier.

In theater, there is much soul-searching about how to develop new audiences. Maybe Barrington Stage has figured it out by producing work in which a younger generation can hear their own voices on stage.

“Lungs” at Barrington Stage Company’s St. Germain Stage, Pittsfield. Tues-Sun. Through June 10 Tickets $30-$39 413-236-8888, www.barringtonstageco.org