PLAY REVIEW: Isaac Newton & the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica

A visit to the Bangalore Little Theatre was organized by our English AS level teacher on the 8th of January. We departed from school at about 10:00 AM in our school bus. The play began at 12:00 noon. The play was called the Small Infinites that depicted & explored the life of Sir Isaac Newton. This play was written by Professor Alan Brody, Professor of Theater Arts, and directed by Prakash Belawadi.
The play was about how Isaac Newton was determined to find the pattern & design of god’s creations with the aid of science & the bible and how he in this process, destroyed his relationship with all his near and dear ones. The end of the play depicts how he became an assassin of god and an ultimate failure. Various tones were used throughout the play. From a happy to a sorrowful one, from a romantic to an angry one and from a polite to a harsh one; use of sarcastic & humorous tone was also been made. A romantic tone was used when Nicolas Fatio de Duillier, a Swiss mathematician converses with Isaac Newton. An angry one was used when Nicolas Fatio de Duillier along with Leibniz was arrested for plagiarism and Newton refused to save Nicolas.The appropriate usage brought a special glamour to the play.
The play was staged in a small studio with comfortable seating. The performance space for the production staged was perfect. There was a cross at the background showing Newton’s connection with God. The stage had stairs which was pulled out when required by the actors on stage. This looked rather messy and inappropriate as it broke the tempo of the play. The set had a black & grey background.
The 4 main characters Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, Nicolas Fatio de Duillier & Edmond Halley (Best Friend of Isaac Newton) wore costumes of grey and black. The two female actresses of the play, Newton’s mother Hannah Ayscough and his half-niece Catherine Barton wore yellow, red or black . Simple make-up with historical touches in the form of wigs and special robes was impressive. The costume and make-up contributed excellently to the whole play as it was a struggle throughout for Newton & these colors increased the impact of struggle. The special lighting and sound effects were executed very well.
The play as a whole was good though it was not very interesting. It seemed to dwell near the boredom spectrum because it was solely based on Newton’s struggle and his search for truth. This led to the creation of an overall sad effect. The script could have been more developed by depicting his whole life rather than the end of it. The actors put up a great show. The dialogue delivery was perfect with perfect intonation. I would give a 5/10 for this play and would recommend it for more mature people as it does not cater to taste for teens like us.

Made By: K.N.Harini (Co-curricular Editor)
Grade: 11