On March 17, Pinnacle Acting Company premiered “Lungs” — an intimate, unflinchingly raw, two-person show — at Riot HQ. Written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Shianne Gray, “Lungs” follows a couple’s journey as they try to answer the age-old question of “should we have kids?” amid the anxieties of the 21st century. The topics of climate change, resource depletion and the general decline of the health and well-being of humanity and the planet make the piece deeply resonant. 

A Focus on Conversation 

When I walked into the unsuspecting Riot HQ building that would act as the playing space, I knew this wasn’t going to be a traditional theater experience. The stage was tucked into one corner of the building, a bright white space created by draping walls. Amorphous ombre lighting was projected onto the walls, a gradient from pink to purple to blue. The only prop was a white rectangle placed on the ground, sometimes functioning as a car, other times a bed. 

The couple, played by Ali Lente and Tyson Baker, walked into the bright space in front of us and all eyes were on them. The audience sat right up against the stage, sometimes only inches away from the couple. The divide between actors and audience seemed to dissipate, replaced with intimacy. The minimal production of “Lungs” allowed for a full immersion into the dialogue of the couple rather than a focus on the spectacle of the stage.

Kids? In a World Like This?

Having children is an immense responsibility in more ways than one. Not only is it a task to raise a child as an individual with their own personality, but having children has an impact on the planet. The couple shares their anxieties about carbon footprints while also imaging their future child as an individual who could solve world problems. All of their concerns become real after they find out they’re expecting. They share tears, arguments, compassion and, above all, honesty about their own feelings.  

“Lungs” asks important questions: Should we have children? What should we do about the current state of our planet? How do we live our lives in a way that doesn’t further perpetuate harm to the planet, those that live here now, and those to come? The show teeters on anxious uncertainty, but that’s what makes it resonate so deeply with the anxiety we feel. It’s always conscious, refusing easy answers to complex questions. By the end of of the play, we aren’t guaranteed answers, perhaps only a new way to explore questions through the lens of compassion. 

“Lungs” is part of the hope and good we need on this planet, and new works like this are a part of how we save this planet — with compassion, unrelenting conversation and a willingness to understand our effect on the environment. For the couple in “Lungs,” the perfect conditions to have a baby don’t exist. The same goes for us. The perfect conditions for anything don’t exist, but they don’t need to for us to build a more hopeful world for ourselves and future humans. 

“Lungs” closed their run on March 27, but you can find more information on Pinnacle Acting Company through their website.

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