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Brecht's first version of this play was written in the latter half of the 1930's he then revised it in the 1940's. It traces a somewhat fictionalised tale of Galileo's life from his demonstration and plagiarism of the telescope through to the end of his life. The themes explored in this piece are as relevant today as they were in 1620, the church and religion in a seemingly never ending conflict with science up to and including the resignation of the pope.
It was an odd mix of period and modern and although we seemed to stick with Galileo and his students as the modern and the church and society against him remaining in period, it didn't always work for me and at times it felt somewhat disjointed. After the interval we were subject to what felt like a bizarre homage to Ken Russell - all dancing nuns and devils – I didn't get it and I am not convinced that the company entirely bought into it either. True to Brechtian convention each scene was introduced by members of the company stepping out of character and addressing the audience directly, although the use of the microphones for this were more of a distraction and unfortunately rendered some of the speech unintelligible.
For me this play worked best when it just told the story. Mark Ravenhill's script was smart and intelligent and there were some great performances. Ian McDairmid is a wonderful actor and I really enjoyed his irreverent and slightly mischievous Galileo, beloved of learning and fine Sicilian wine but less so of teaching and paying bills. That said he has a dedicated pupil in Andrea, played by Matthew Aubrey, whose journey from student to teacher was nicely realised and lovely to watch. The rest of the company provided able support and were the strength of this production.
Despite best efforts something was lacking for me in this show, I wanted more physics, more astronomy and more wonder of discovery woven into the evening. Less dancing nuns and more sky at night.
