The Court of the Grandchildren at The Magnetic Theatre
As a first time attendee of The Magnetic Theatre, I greatly enjoyed the experience of walking in and being greeted by art and an usher checking for COVID-19 vaccination or negative test status. Working in venues, you have to appreciate the insurance that shows can continue to exist in the way we’d all prefer: in person.
When reading the description of Australian writer Michael Muntisov’s The Court of the Grandchildren, I was fully expecting a whole immersive sci-fi experience. I didn’t get that at all, but, honestly, that’s fine! The fact that this is a truly believable future is what helps make the somewhat bleak story feel much more believable.
The play is set in 2051 with Earth in post-climate crisis normality. The “Burner” generation (i.e. Gen X) is reviled for their lack of action to prevent global warming. Lily (Morgan Miller, who absolutely delivers charm and grace in her first performance with Magnetic) discovers that she has a remaining family member, David Moreland (Stan Baranowski). David is a Burner, and, at 81 years old, is ready to die. His nurse, Sarah (Sonia Rose D’Andrea), believes there’s more life to live. Baranowski and D’Andrea nail the rapport between grumpy old man and concerned nurse, and lend some welcome comedic timing to an otherwise dark story.
David worked with the climate response team in the 2020s, trying to lead the world in helping turn back climate change. Because of that experience, he must stand before the “Climate Court,” a commission led by a judge (Roberta Whiteside) to determine whether or not people in power actually did what they could to save the planet. Lily calls on her friend Matteo (Scott Fisher) to represent David in court, as he’s one of the few human lawyers left. I enjoyed the scenes between Miller and Fisher, as both give the impression of grown-up Gen Z kids trying their hardest to adapt to an ever-changing world. And Whiteside has such an air of authority without veering into condescending territory.
Though set in the future, the story is decidedly timely. There are a few nods to our current events (“I didn’t know you had asthma.” “I don’t, my mother had COVID while pregnant and I get flares when I’m stressed”), along with jokes that are timeless regardless of era, like a climate refugee-turned-mugger who originated from — shocker — Florida.
Furthermore, many of the younger generation (played by Miller, Emily Tucker, Aaron Ybarra, and Zak Hamrick) have their faces painted in kumadori styles to confuse AI cameras (something that has been brought up in recent times with facial recognition trends). But nothing in the play feels overly out of reach; it’s accessible, without feeling too simple. Some of the scenes do feel a bit like Muntisov is hammering home the “We need to fix the world yesterday” message, and a few scenes feel like they were included merely to add more human elements to a straightforward story, but they never fully interrupt the overall flow.
The set design by Tyler Johnson is also simple but highly effective. Panels with multicolored LED strips lend a futuristic glow and double as AttorneyBot 5, an AI working as the prosecutor, bringing to mind some of my favorite old BBC series. The futuristic props by Tippin, like the Sherpa earpieces that act as a future version of Siri, lend nice touches to this not-quite-apocalyptic world without being glaringly out of place. The overall message could have proven hamfisted, but under Jason Williams’ direction, the performances are just earnest enough to drive the point home in an effective way while still offering hope that it’s not too late to save the planet.
The Court of the Grandchildren runs through Saturday, April 23, at The Magnetic Theatre. For details and tickets, visit themagnetictheatre.org.
(Photo by Cheyenne Dancy)
