Copenhagen



Copenhagen is the opening production of the 2006/2007 season for Balagula Theater. It starred Ryan Case, Adam Lukey and Janet Scott; and is directed by Natasha Williams and Ed Desiato.



This Tony award-winning play by Michael Frayn focuses on a real-life mysterious meeting between German physicist Werner Heisenberg and Danish physicist Niels Bohr that took place in German-occupied Denmark during World War II. It was a risky trip for Heisenberg, and for years, people in the scientific community have speculated about why the two old friends met then and why the meeting apparently ended in a heated disagreement.




The Copenhagen production ran over the dates of September 26 to October 5, 2006 at Natasha's Cafe in Lexington.




PLAY SYNOPSIS

Copenhagen begins with an urgent question—Why? Why did Werner Heisenberg need to visit Niels Bohr in 1941, in the middle of World War II, when such a trip meant risking his life and the physicists' friendship? What could possibly have been so urgent?



Margrethe's question sets off an unstoppable reaction, and the question soon takes on a life of its own. Bohr, Heisenberg, and Margrethe are determined to find an answer, no matter what dark and winding road they must travel. Together, these three ghosts of the past relive that evening in 1941, along with several other important moments in their lives. Bohr and Heisenberg conjure the memory of their hike across Denmark and their visit to Elsinore.



We join the two of them on a ski trip. We witness the moment when they first met, the instant when the two formed some of the most important hypotheses in physics, the night wherein Heisenberg met his wife, the day when Bohr's eldest son died, and Hiesenberg's heartbreaking trip across a war-ravaged Germany. Each anecdote brings us closer to these characters and helps us see the motives at the heart of their actions (and reactions). The life of a broken family unfolds before us as they search for the truth behind the event that tore them apart--an event which may have altered all of human history.



So why did Heisenberg travel to Denmark in 1941? Perhaps he needed moral guidance from his life-long mentor. Perhaps he was attempting to gather information concerning the American nuclear program, or to halt that program before it began. Perhaps he was searching for an answer to a problem which he himself could not solve. In the end, Heisenberg himself is unable to pinpoint a reason. Uncertainty is at the core of his intentions, and the only discernable cause of his actions is "Elsinore"—the darkness inside the human soul.



Photograph by Matt Goins





DIRECTOR'S NOTES



Though rooted in history and reflecting on historic events, Copenhagen, in our production, is not a 'historic' play. We did not attempt to create historically accurate portraits of Niels Bohr, his wife Margrethe, and Werner Heisenberg. Rather, it is a theatrical inquiry into the state of mind of those who knowingly or inadvertently affected, or thought they did, the outcome of a major historic shift – through a personal choice. (Alas, even well documented recent history, is viewed and presented through historians’ interpretations which are tainted by their point of view and based on ideologically charged methodology.)



In Copenhagen, Michael Frayn creates a hypothetical situation that enables us to explore a wide range of existential questions, using the language of physics as a metaphor of human existence. Copenhagen is a philosophical play that challenges our habitual sense of right and wrong; a humanistic play that stretches our empathy and compassion beyond comfortable boundaries; an intellectual play that throws a monkey wrench of uncertainty into the complacency of our established sentiment.



Our production is a collaborative work of three actors and two directors that talked, analyzed, agonized, interpreted, and rehearsed for five long months; We excited and annoyed our loved ones and colleagues with constant discussions of seemingly unrelated 'major issues of human existence' in the middle of an ordinary day; We quoted lines to a degree that no one in our immediate environment can have a conversation without a reference to the play.



On stage, actors do not attempt to disguise themselves neither physically – no make up; nor psychologically – the inquiry is being made by Ryan Case, Adam Luckey and Juanita Jeter. What you see is a genuine act of empathy – the only legitimate way of understanding another human being without judgment – that separates acting from mere impersonation.



There is almost no set, no costumes, and the few props do not suggest a historic setting. Copenhagen is truly an actors’ play.



And, if based on the above description you think we have created a dry academic research for high brow intellectuals, consider that Copenhagen is also a psychological thriller, with all the elements of an exciting mystery: who is a hero, who is a villain; who and how has done the deed, and will they ever answer for it.





Excerpts from
'SCIENCE BECOMES THE STAR'

By Rich Copley
Lexington Herald-Leader
August 20, 2006

Central Kentucky theater has been getting decidedly left-brained recently with... productions addressing scientific theories and issues that would make most of our heads spin... Next month, Copenhagen, a play about a meeting between two elite physicists, opens at Natasha's Cafe. But fear not, gentle liberal arts friend. The science nerds have not taken over theater.

In fact, numerous artists involved in these... productions freely admit to strained relationships with the subjects in high school and college. But the plays still resonate with them because all that science illuminates very human traits and issues.

"This play is not about physics," says Natasha Williams, director of Copenhagen. "It is not a lecture about physics. We are forced to understand physics to understand how they relate to each other. It sounds really academic, but it's really very human."

Of recent works dealing with science, Copenhagen has been one of the most popular, but it is hardly alone. It won the Tony Award for best new play in 2000.

In Copenhagen, a large part of the discussion is about the implications of atomic physics. Michael Frayn's play focuses on a real-life mysterious meeting between German physicist Werner Heisenberg and Danish physicist Niels Bohr that took place in German-occupied Denmark during World War II. It was a risky trip for Heisenberg, and for years, people in the scientific community have speculated about why the two old friends met then and why the meeting apparently ended in a heated disagreement.

In Frayn's version of the event, the men discuss a variety of issues, from their friendship to the implications of atomic science, all through the lens of physics. That context has been the cause of long rehearsals and discussions, with the actors trying to grasp the script.

"You have to sit down and instead of talking about character arcs, it's a science class," says Ryan Case, who plays Heisenberg. "You can't understand if you are arguing or agreeing without understanding the science."

Somewhere in the rehearsal process for Copenhagen, director Williams wondered why there was a rash of science-based plays in production. She sees stressors such as the Iraq war, the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, raising questions. "People wonder about humanity and how it relates to the greater universe," she says.

The answers to many questions lie in science and have very human implications... Copenhagen (deals) with the development of the atomic bomb... Williams points to the irony of Heisenberg and Bohr's work with atoms helping them understand the basis of human life, while also contributing to the creation of the most efficient instrument for destroying it.

"It's very cerebral, more cerebral than anything else I have ever done," says Adam Luckey, who plays Bohr. "But there are times in rehearsal where we say, 'My God, physics makes sense now'." That's an insight that should rub off on audiences...

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