Bertolt Brecht, translated by Mark
Ravenhill.
Directed by Roxana Silbert
Swan Theatre,
Until 30 March 2013
Reviewed on 13th February 2013 by Alice Leake age 24
A Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, translated by
Mark Ravenhill. Directed by Roxana
Silbert at the RSC Swan Theatre, 13th February 2013.
The current RSC season takes a look at what else was
going on in the world during Shakespeare’s lifetime, A Life of Galileo is the
Italian input into this “World Elsewhere” theme. The play is in essence a
debate between scientific logic and religious faith. An enjoyable, light hearted and humorous
script devised by Mark Ravenhill and Roxana Silbert’s lively direction have the
audience captivated from the word go.
Galileo believes that fact based research and development is key to
human advancement, whereas the church considers these issues less important
than giving people a purpose in life, as faith does. The church argues that science irresponsibly
draws us away from humanity by quashing religions legitimacy, thereby leaving
humans on a par with animals. With
debates on issues such as IVF, abortion and euthanasia constantly in and out of
the headlines, this question of science’s social responsibility resonates with
modern day audiences. The majority of
people in Britain accept that science is factual and those that are religious
generally come to terms with this by marrying the two together. However, in America there are still schools
that teach religion in science lessons, so the idea “God created the world,
Adam and Eve and everything we see” is readily received as fact. A Life of Galileo dramatises this debate by
focusing on Galileo’s struggle to publish work that would contradict biblical
teachings on the cosmos. After evading
the church’s powerful autonomy for years, he is eventually branded a heretic,
caught and forced to recant his findings.
This plot proves extremely interesting.
Viewing Galileo’s personal story gives the play depth and we learn about
the origins of scientific theories we now take for granted.
Mark Ravenhill has translated Brecht’s play
wonderfully, it is witty and engaging and he has given director Roxana Silbert
the means to create a production that feels fresh and playful. The direction is full of contrasts that keep
the audience on their toes - one moment involving them directly, the next
leaving them a fly on the wall. We get
off to a brilliant start as actor Ian McDiarmid (Galileo) introduces the first
scene through a large red microphone; his booming voice is accompanied by LED
light strips that flash the key words above the stage and along the balconies,
a real credit to lighting designer Rick Fisher.
This method of introducing new scenes was repeated by other members of
the cast throughout the play and was crucial to the audiences understanding as
the modern and abstract sets did little to convey a time and place. However, this is not a criticism, designer
Tom Scutt has done the production justice by allowing the audience room for
imagination. The visual impact of large sheets
of bright blue graph paper cascading down from the orchestra balcony left a
strong first impression on entering the theatre and his modern costumes
complimented the show by helping the audience to keep the play’s contemporary
connotations in mind.
In terms of execution Jodie McNee (Galileo’s daughter)
was excellent. In the scene where she
waited to hear if her father would recant, her frantic prayers had many of the
audience fighting back tears. Philip
Whitchurch’s performance also stood out, his comic timing was superb as ever. In one scene, Whitchurch compelled the audience
to enjoy the surreal onslaught of a song that had the cast raucously stomping
around the stage in bizarre makeup and costumes, bouncing on gym balls and
wheeling hoola-hoops crying “who doesn’t want to be their own master”. The real genius of this piece though, was
the scintillating performance of Ian McDiarmid as Galileo. At times he was full of dry wit, mischievous
and petulant but as the play progressed and the church began to persecute
Galileo, he showed a man whose spirit had been broken but not lost its
rambunctious core. I was deeply
impressed by his surprising and charismatic performance, throughout the play he
undulated with a turbulence of emotions that brought the character to life and
enchanted the audience. His acting
actually over shadowed a few of the other performers who seemed a little over
rehearsed in comparison.
However, overall this play really delivered. The RSC have managed to create a Galileo that
the audience can relate to, a thought provoking and touching interpretation
that at times had the audience on the edge of their seat. This, plus lashings of theatrics made for a
deliciously entertaining show that should not be missed. You can catch it in Stratford-Upon-Avon from
now until the 30th March.
