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Theatre Studies and Science

Theatre Studies and Science THEATRE STUDIES AND SCIENCE Margaret Araneo BOOK REVIEWED: Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, Science on Stage: From Doctor Faustus to Copenhagen. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006. S ince the late 1990s, an increasing number of scholars have taken notice of a fresh dialogue emerging between science and theatre. The two disciplines, often considered in opposition, are talking to each other in a new spirit of cooperation. The current discussion around science and theatre often focuses on the triumph of Michael Frayn’s 1998 play, Copenhagen. In it, Frayn uses a sophisticated theatrical framework to engage complex theories from physics, presenting three possible versions of the final meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg alongside an exploration of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and the theory of complementarity. The science in Copenhagen is clear and accurate while also being essential to the plot. The play received praise from theatre critics as well as the physics community. After Copenhagen’s success, a slew of new plays about science began to appear. Peter Parnell examined the life of the physicist Richard Feynman in QED (2001). Israel Horovitz took on chemistry research in Promises.com (2001). Caryl Churchill addressed the ethics of cloning in A Number (2002). Even the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art MIT Press

Theatre Studies and Science

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Publisher
MIT Press
Copyright
© 2007 Margaret Araneo
ISSN
1520-281X
eISSN
1537-9477
DOI
10.1162/pajj.2007.29.1.49
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

THEATRE STUDIES AND SCIENCE Margaret Araneo BOOK REVIEWED: Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, Science on Stage: From Doctor Faustus to Copenhagen. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006. S ince the late 1990s, an increasing number of scholars have taken notice of a fresh dialogue emerging between science and theatre. The two disciplines, often considered in opposition, are talking to each other in a new spirit of cooperation. The current discussion around science and theatre often focuses on the triumph of Michael Frayn’s 1998 play, Copenhagen. In it, Frayn uses a sophisticated theatrical framework to engage complex theories from physics, presenting three possible versions of the final meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg alongside an exploration of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and the theory of complementarity. The science in Copenhagen is clear and accurate while also being essential to the plot. The play received praise from theatre critics as well as the physics community. After Copenhagen’s success, a slew of new plays about science began to appear. Peter Parnell examined the life of the physicist Richard Feynman in QED (2001). Israel Horovitz took on chemistry research in Promises.com (2001). Caryl Churchill addressed the ethics of cloning in A Number (2002). Even the

Journal

PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art – MIT Press

Published: Jan 1, 2007

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