Lungs by Duncan Macmillan

Duncan Macmillan’s Lungs is an actor-driven work inviting the audience to engage a theatrical world devoid of scenographic accoutrement. Without a large set or the use of props, our spare stage centres on the actors and Macmillan’s deft prose. The story of two nameless characters – ‘M’ and ‘W’ – moves through a matrix of situations in which ‘saving the planet’ and ‘being a good person’ frame the evolution of their relationship, an intimate and personal journey of two soul mates. We have divided the piece into three sections, each of which is delivered by a separate couple. Choral speaking and Abdul Halim’s soundscape help tether this metatheatrical motif.

Macmillan’s world is generic and can be applied to any modern-day location, thereby lending to our subtle choice to set the piece in Singapore. Permission has been granted to change an occasional word (e.g. Changi), providing actors and audience members shared points of reference within a universal story of love, loss, and partnership. Lungs offers a deeply human connection for anyone who has questioned their role in society, painstakingly contemplated parenthood, or experienced the joys and pain of co-dependency. It is as timeless as it is timely.