Copenhagen
Michael Frayn
Copenhagen
In 1941, at the height of the Second World War, two old friends meet for the last time. Niels Bohr, the leading quantum theorist of the time, half Jewish but remaining in occupied Copenhagen; Werner Heisenberg, a German and the former protégé of Bohr, working for his country on a new project. On opposing sides, these two men have the ability to change the course of history.
4.1 out of 5 based on 7 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Location |
Sheffield |
| Venue |
Lyceum Theatre |
| Director |
David Grindley |
| Cast |
Henry Goodman, Geoffrey Streatfeild Barbara Flynn |
| From |
February 2012 |
| Until |
March 2012 |
| Box Office |
0114 249 6000 |
| |
In 1941, at the height of the Second World War, two old friends meet for the last time. Niels Bohr, the leading quantum theorist of the time, half Jewish but remaining in occupied Copenhagen; Werner Heisenberg, a German and the former protégé of Bohr, working for his country on a new project. On opposing sides, these two men have the ability to change the course of history.
Part of the Michael Frayn Season
Reviews
The Times
Libby Purves
“If fission science is beyond you (as it is me) you can surf like a dolphin, playing in the wash of a ship whose propulsion it cannot understand. Enjoy the waves and currents of discovery and dilemma, and the cold splash of a danger which, alas, has never lifted since.”
07/03/2012
Read Full Review
The Daily Telegraph
Charles Spencer
“The final scene also achieves a beautiful poetic resonance about “the final core of uncertainty at the heart of things” that seems like a secular version of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets. David Grindley directs a lucid yet atmospheric production, with the haunting quality of a recurring dream. And the three characters in the play’s limbo-like world are played with a superb mixture of intellect and depth of feeling.
”
08/03/2012
Read Full Review
The Observer
Clare Brennan
“Seeing Copenhagen directly after Benefactors is like experiencing the shift from the Newtonian to the Einsteinian universe: similar stage elements produce such different effects.
”
11/03/2012
Read Full Review
The Financial Times
Ian Shuttleworth
“The quintessential Michael Frayn play. Its setting in the world of quantum physics may be uniquely fitting to the Frayn approach, but time and again his dramas demonstrate that no single perspective can show us all the salient aspects of an issue or a sequence of events. ”
07/03/2012
Read Full Review
The Guardian
Michael Billington
“Fortunately, Henry Goodman as Bohr, Geoffrey Streatfeild as Heisenberg and Barbara Flynn as Bohr's inquisitive wife, Margrethe, deliver Frayn's text with exemplary clarity and remind us of his extraordinary capacity to combine nuclear physics with metaphysical speculation on life's mystery.”
07/03/2012
Read Full Review
The Stage
Mark Shenton
“David Grindley’s masterly production has an effortless command of registering subtly shifting moods to keep this largely static drama moving, but even three superb actors at the top of their game cannot disguise that the play itself is effortful. ”
07/03/2012
Read Full Review
The Sunday Times
Jane Edwardes
“For all the elegance of Frayn’s writing, David Grindley’s production feels remote.
”
11/03/2012
Read Full Review