LIFE OF GALILEO till 12 November
THE LIFE OF GALILEO: Bertolt Brecht, Translated by David Edgar from a literal translation by Deborah Gearing
Runs: 2h 30 one interval, till 12 November
Review: Rod Dungate, 1 November 2005
A vigorous and stimulating production that really gets you thinking
This is a splendid revival of Brecht's elusive play, in fact it's riveting. David Edgar (whose version it is) points out that the 'meaning' of the play has changed over time, indeed changed over the three versions Brecht wrote. But at the end of the day, whatever conclusions the play might reach (and I'm sure they'll change from one audience member to another) it's the debate that counts.
In this production the arguments fly to and fro like squash balls bouncing around Ruari Murchison's beautiful and spacious set. Even as the debates fly in the acting-space you can't help but simultaneously recognise the debates today � a reactionary Catholic church, the influence over reason of the Christian right in the US, religious led debates over stem-cell research, genetically modified food vs 'Frankenstein' crops . . . Oh dear, we may think we've come a long way since Galileo, but, really, how far have we come?
Brecht refuses to give us easy answers; Galileo discovers the movement of the planets, capitulates to the Church in order to avoid torture, but smuggles a copy of his completed work out of Italy with a former pupil. In the play science becomes both a goal to which to aspire and a marketable commodity. The Church agrees with the science but suppresses it in order to protect the masses by leaving them with hope for a better time in the hereafter than on earth. And Brecht gives us a happy ending but it's far from clear whether or not it's ironic.
Timothy West's Galileo Galilei is a likeable character. West imbues him with drive, intelligence but a big slice of naivet�. In Edgar's version there's a gentle humour too. When Galileo is with his team � Andrea (David Nicolle), Federzoni (Neil Phillips), and the monk (Mark Rice-Oxley) � the feeling of a solid unit of workers is tangible. Introducing the new investigation into Jupiter's moons 'My aim � our aim,' says Galileo, correcting himself.
Murchison, in his design, takes away a large amount of the Rep's huge acting-space and creates an imposing flight of steps. Characters often, therefore, appear to be parading for us on a kind of catwalk, and humans are made small by their surroundings. Jonathan Church directs the whole with great clarity, so that narrative movement is fluid and the play retains high tension from start to finish.
Cast
Andrew Bridgmont
Linda Broughton
Keiran Flynn
Andy Hockley
Harry Konstantis
Natasha Lewis
Joss Marshall
David Peart
Neil Phillips
David Nicolle
Mark Rice-Oxley
Rohan Siva
Ted Smith
Anthony Taylor
Timothy West
Cressida Whyte
John Woodvine
Director: Jonathan Church
Designer: Ruari Murchison
Lighting Designer: Mark Jonathan
Composer: Matthew Scott
2005-11-02 16:02:29