Richard Lutz watches Ian McDiarmid grab centre stage in the Brecht play about reason and faith.
Galileo, to many the father of modern science, held a radical and dangerous thought back in the early 1600’s. The Italian scientist believed in the theory, first put forward by Copernicus, that the earth actually traveled around the sun. A nice idea, but the theory was unfortunately held in abhorrence by the church which could not see the stars though the trees because it would conflict with their own addled theories that the earth, blessed by God, was the centre of the universe.
And so Bertolt Brecht’s play unfolds: modern science versus the church. Reason versus faith. And unfortunately the 17th century church in Italy won out because they simply showed the astronomer the instruments of torture. He got the inferred nasty message and agreed he was wrong.
Or did he? Brecht’s play A Life of Galileo, re-written by theatrical wunderkid Mark Ravenhill, reveals how the scientist, while in internal exile, kept quietly producing the scientific treatises that laid the foundation for what we call modern science.
Ian McDiarmid plays a blinder: his Galileo is testy, ironic, quirky, short tempered, loving as a father but stern as a teacher and radical thinker. The actor (better known in some quarters as Senator Palpatine in the Star Wars episodes) grabs centre stage and never lets go – even as a crumbling old man who admits he bowed beneath church leaders simply because he was scared of the threat of physical pain if he didn’t cave in.
He is ably supported by Karherine Manners as his daughter and Matthew Aubery as faithful acolyte Andrea who refuses to bow to the narrow-minded stupidly of the church and secretly takes Galileo’s newest works to free thinking Holland and, eventually, the changing world.
The large Rep stage is efficiently filled by director Roxana Silbert and designer Tom Scott with plenty of music, dance, colour and light in this production jointly presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Theatre Royal Bath. And Ravenhill’s modern take on Brecht’s operatic style is bang up to date, hard hitting and wry.
Birmingham Rep until 8th March. Tickets: 021 236 4455
The play is part of The Rep’s Epic Encounters season which looks at other work by Brecht. For more details, see birmingham-rep.co.uk