REVIEWS

By the end of Galileo’s century, autocrat Louis XIV was calling himself the Sun-King (because the world revolved around him), and Jesuits were using the newfound ease of predicting the movement of planets as evidence that the universe was designed by an intelligence who made humans in His own image. The complex relationship between science and power was one Brecht spent the latter part of his life reconsidering, and in The Life of Galileo, we are forced to reconsider it as well. Perhaps, in that sense, it fits into his conception of Epic Theatre after all.

The show does not shy away from the number of people killed, but its recounting of heroism and, in its own words, compassion and grace, works so well because it is so truthful. It’s nice to be reminded that in a crises situation, most of the strangers around you, such as the other audience members, will try to help. United Flight 232 communicates an uplifting message in a manner which resonates because it is told so convincingly, and in such a way that we feel its consequences.

Writers Theatre is entering a new phase in its history, with the opening of a $28 million dollar new theatre complex. So what better way for the literary-oriented company to celebrate than Arcadia, one of the densest works by one of the most famously intellectual contemporary playwrights?