Crtitical Essay on Duncan Macmillan Play Lungs

Introduction

The Duncan Macmillan play titled Lungs is about love relationships between couples, which is its main theme. Notably, love relationships between lovers are always highly fraught even in the absence of the additional dilemma of making decisions about logical considerations for getting a child in the already crowded world. The play shows couples who have a secure relationship that is full of love. These couples are known in the play as Kate Atkinson and Bert LaBonte. They are embroiled in the dilemma of facing both their hopes and fears regarding conceiving, bearing and rearing a child in this world.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The reactions of reviews read online to concentrate on the agony faced by the couple in deciding whether to bring a child into the world or not. It is LaBonte, the man, who raises the idea of getting a baby. However, this suggestion is challenged by the woman, Atkinson, who appears greatly interested in knowing and ascertaining the tenability such a discussion. She then reveals her anxieties and ethical considerations regarding adding a child in this already crowded world. While raising her reservation, Atkinson quips, "A baby?" (Macmillan 14).

Notably, in his review, Kate Herbert appears greatly enchanted by this conversation. He reveals that the two couples are his best actors in Australia. Specifically, this critical reviewer is thrilled by the show of bubbling love affair between the couple. He admires the way the two couples approach issues at hand in their lives. It is truly rare to find such a united couple in the modern world, where important matters of family are discussed with the opinion of each partner counting. Most couples are traditional in nature and patriarchal, where important decisions are supposed to be made by the man. The female partner is a passive participant in the decision-making process. These traditional relationships are guided by the principle that the man is always the head of the house. When LaBonte raises the idea of having a baby to his lover, Atkinson, he does not do it with finality. He only seeks to set up the conversation about the issue so that a common ground can be reached between the two. It is quite interesting just how the man listens to the woman as she raises her concerns and reservations regarding the idea of having a baby.

Herbert (n.d) has kind words in which he describes the couple. He refers to it as modern, smart, hipster and hotly in love. He also feels the two partners are hilarious, believable and adorable. However, the couple is also seen as tragic, impassioned and annoying. The dialogue that ensues between the two partners is described as comic as well as dramatic.

To Byron Woods, one does not need much attention to discover the clear strengths of the play Lungs. Woods (n.d) acknowledges the intimacy and distance that simultaneously exists between the partners. Woods approves the play as interesting, well-done and quite recommendable to lovers of drama masterpieces.

It is also worthy to note the critical reaction of Gardner Lyn, who describes the play as a distinctive and off-kilter love story. According to Gardner (n.d), the play has a love relationship storyline that is highly honest, funny and full of contemporariness. It is a play that affords a voice to the generation of real-life people who live in great uncertainty.

Conclusion

The common agreement among the three critics of the play is that it was perfectly done and produced. The critics highly remark and commend the play's storyline agreeing that the couple is in deep love.

Works Cited

Gardner, Lyn. "Lungs - Review." The Guardian (2011, October). Accessed at https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/oct/25/lungs-crucible-sheffield-review

Herbert, Kate. "Theatre review: Lungs, Melbourne Theatre Company." Herald Sun (2016, February). Accessed at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/arts/theatre-review-lungs-melbourne-theatre-company/news-story/f2c6873c1267eb3298aed71347a02797.

Macmillan, Duncan. Lungs. London: Oberon Books, 2016.

Woods, Byron. "Theater Review: Lungs Is a Rewarding Drama for a Theatrically Underserved Millennial Generation." INDY Week (2016, September). Accessed at https://www.indyweek.com/arts/archives/2016/09/14/theater-review-lungs-is-a-rewarding-drama-for-a-theatrically-underserved-millennial-generation.