Review by Neal Newman
April 23, 2023
Actors Net of Bucks County presents THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE by Lauren Gunderson. It tells the story of the famed scientist who discovered radium and won two Nobel Prizes for physics and chemistry; she is abetted in this two-character play by Hertha Ayrton, another brilliant woman scientist who is remembered for improving the electric light and inventing a cotton fan that saved countless lives in the poison gas horrors of World War One.
Feminists will chortle at the many Wildean epigrams that Gunderson feeds the characters. “An error that ascribes to a man what was actually the work of a woman has more lives than a cat.”
Men proudly control all industries and even science. Both ladies were denied major science prizes. They were rendered ineligible because they were married. Property of all kinds must belong to the husband. Madame Curie, the widow of her husband/science colleague Pierre, takes a younger lover who is married. Society denounces her as a jezebel, and the tabloids have a field day. In the play, Curie escapes to a quiet seaside cottage belonging to Hertha, where they discuss their and society’s problems.
Susan Blair and Erin Leder. Photos by Charlotte Kirkby
If this sounds a bit wordy, it is. The play was commissioned by Audible, the audiobook company, and released as such. Most of the action happens offstage and is described by the characters. This can create quite a challenge for a two-character play that must rely on extraordinary resourcefulness on the part of the actors and director. The only actual conflict occurs when Hertha discovers that Marie carries radium about with her and naturally fears that it will radioactively contaminate the house and Marie herself. There is also a charming scene of drunken revelry when Hertha tries to interrogate Marie about her sex life. But the talk persists.
Actor’s Net’s production looks fine, which is quite a compliment considering the size of the tiny stage. The designers Judi Parrish, Adrena Wishnie, and Rittzi Productions of set, lights, and costumes, respectively, are pleasing as they create the France and England of 1911. Parrish’s sound design, she’s also the director, successfully summons the feeling of the seashore.
The always excellent Susan Blair dominates the evening as Hertha Aryton. Blessed with an expressive voice and physicality, she brings unexpected imagination to the didactic script. Especially indelible are speeches when she describes her arrest as a suffragette and recounts the poison gas episode of the War. She also recites a portion of a poem by Swinburne. Theater companies must invite Blair to read ANYTHING if they need a fundraising evening.
Erin Leder, as Marie Curie, is saddled with a thick Polish accent that severely limits her vocal variety. The accent is accurate, but the play would have been better served with a softer touch. Her’s a loud performance dominated by self-pity. A standard theatrical rule is that the actor will lose audience sympathy if self-pity is injected into the role. The director’s task is to guide the actor to other imaginative choices that allow the character to state their problems without self-indulgence. Her delivery of every complaint is also very identical throughout. This production, which should tell of the bonding of two exceptional women, is now the story of a calm but angelic friend trying to quiet a churlish companion. Hopefully, more variety and inventiveness will appear in future performances.
One wants to like Gunderson’s play. She continually writes very popular historical works that reveal much about estimable women of the past and the struggles that continue to this day. But this play needs less talk and more action.
RUNNING TIME; 90 minutes without intermission
Actor’s Net presents THE HALF LIFE OF MARIE CURIE by Lauren Gunderson through May 7, 2023, at 635 Delmorr Avenue, Morrisville, PA. Tickets can be obtained at www.actorsnetbucks.org or by calling 215-428-0217