Kenyon Collegian

Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: A&E

Media Credit: Charlotte Woolf

Scientifically dense, stylistically abstract and nearly three hours in length, it is easy to imagine a production of Michael Frayn's "Copenhagen" that is unbearable. It hinges not only on complicated quantum theory but also on obscure historical record and staged without context or explanation, with the three main characters posthumously reliving the same night over and over; to call the play a challenge is something of an understatement.

Fortunately, Kenyon's production rose to the challenge, exploring the meaning and beauty in even the driest of Frayn's passages. Directed by Dan Takacs '09, the interplay between the show's three characters was occasionally hilarious, often poignant and always captivating. There were few, if any, moments when the action dragged. As repetitive as the play's action was-as they relive the same night, as they discuss the same topics, even as they speak the same lines-there is the sense that the play is heading somewhere, that with each repetition the play circles ever closer to the underlying meaning.

The play's set was sparse, with a table and chairs, a coat rack, a door and a few odds and ends. The characters zipped around the stage with precision and gusto as they bounced off each other emotionally. Takacs clearly spent a great deal of time rehearsing the physicality of the show, and the work shows-the actors, rearranging set pieces and striding through every corner of the space, were clearly comfortable with their environment. The almost frenetic activity they displayed was often rewarding, as convoluted scientific concepts became performances instead of lectures.

There were moments, however, when the actors seemed to be in motion merely because they had not moved in a while. Pieces of physical activity within the play, called stage business, abounded-snatching a hat back and forth, an inexplicable lighter being passed among the cast, suitcases perpetually in motion-and it seemed like business for business's sake, not genuine or productive, simply there to give the audience something to view.

Though some credit for the show's accessibility must certainly go to Takacs, it could not have been done without a committed and energetic cast. Werner Heisenberg, played by Griffin Horn '09, Niels Bohr, played by Clay von Carlowitz '09 and Margrethe Bohr, played by Cory Anderson '09 were each crucial characters, for the interplay between these three is what drives "Copenhagen." Horn's Heisenberg was jaunty and competitive, too caught up in the excitement of the moment to see the outcome of his actions. Problems for him were "tantalizingly difficult," and his youthful exuberance was tangible.

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