Lungs

Compiled from notes taken January 10th

Before: My friend Kel was working the doors for Lungs at ArtsCourt, so she gave me and my friend Trevor comps. I was happy to be seeing the show for free. I hadn't been in the library at ArtsCourt before, which was where the show was held. Trevor and I bought food from Loblaws and ate in his office before we walked over to ArtsCourt, cutting through LabO and heading up to the appropriate floor via elevator. The lobby area, which was really just a hallway outside of the library room, was packed full of people. Trevor picked up our tickets, which were popsicle sticks with the name of the show (and GA for General Admission) written on them.

We were let into the space shortly after we arrived and took our seats, with some audience members sitting on mats on the floor. The space was the equivalent of a small black box theatre, with par cans and some Source 4 equivalents suspended from a grid. I wasn't able to see operators or stage managers, but I think there was a table at the back of the space. The audience was lively and chatty, and lots of people seemed to know each other. I recognized a few people as friends of Kel's.

Kel told me that Lungs was a beautiful show that she intended to watch every night that she did front of house. She considered it relevant to Oxygen (which I and she are both working on, along with Guillaume and Eve), and was hoping everyone involved in our show would go see Lungs. I knew it dealt with a couple struggling with the decision about whether to have a child. I didn't have a program or any information beyond what I've mentioned here.

After: What I wanted most after the show was to know more about the world they grappled with the idea of bringing children into. It seems to me like an odd thing to be hung up on, but I wanted to know more about the future/present they suggested at the conclusion of the play. I'm not certain what this says about my experience overall.

A moment that stood out for me was when the woman told the man that she was pregnant. I didn't realize at first that she was referencing their earlier sexual encounter, so I was a bit behind the rest of the audience when I grasped what was going on. I gasped audibly when I realized, and I hope this didn't break the immersion of anyone other than Trevor, who stifled laughter next to me.

The use of the space appeared very well thought out to me. They were lying down in bed at one point, but standing up and using the wall as the bed. I liked that they were able to stretch our suspension of disbelief to allow for these sorts of moments, where what I was seeing made perfect sense inside the world despite the minimalist staging.

I realized after the show that I'd seen the actress (can't remember her name for the life of me) in a Shakespeare performance in a park over the summer. I'd be curious to see more shows with either of the performers.