On Saturday night, eagerly clutching my ticket, I went to watch Dr Atomic at the English National Opera in London. For those who haven't already seen the hype, it's about the end of the Manhattan Project, which saw the creation of the world's first nuclear bomb. It's a part of history I've studied in detail but, even so, seeing it through someone else's musical imagination was amazing.There were a few parts that really dragged (a weird bedroom scene near the start was one). But what I loved was that the science wasn't skimmed over. There were some juicy technical details, like the difficulty in detonating all the fuses at the right time, and the effect of the weather on dispersing radiation. And unlike any book I have read on the Manhattan Project, I got a feeling right down to my bones of how unbearably deep the tension must have been for the scientists working on it.
When science and art get together, you can get spectacular mistakes, but judging by the crowd's reaction on Saturday night (except for my friend seated next to me, who audibly groaned, she hated it so much), Dr Atomic got it right. I hope we see even better recreations of history's big scientific events on stage in the future (if that's not too much to wish for...?).
1 responses:
It's theatre like Dr Atomic that makes me trully appreciate sitting in the Gods - I can sleep to my hearts content without worrying about being seen and thus hurting the feelings of the actors on stage.
Trully one of the most awful productions on stage I've ever seen. And no the Mills and Boons syrup that was shoved in for......human interest? - made me almost break out in hives. Ang, your too kind.
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