David Kary

NEARER THE GODS : AN UNFLATTERING PORTRAIT OF HUMAN GENIUS

Sean O’Shea as King Charles ii in Nearer The Gods at the Ensemble. Pic Prudence Upton
Violette Ayad as nMary Halley in Nearer The Gods at the Ensemble.. Pic Prudence Upton
Rowan Davie as Edmund Halley in Nearer The Gods. Pic Prudence Upton

Each year, for some time now, the Ensemble Theatre includes a David Williamson play in its subscription season.

This year the Ensemble has chosen Williamson’s NEARER THE GODS which had its premiere season in October 2018 at the Billie Brown Theatre in a Queensland Theatre Company production directed by its then Artistic Director Sam Strong.

NEARER THE GODS opened at the Ensemble last Wednesday night in a production directed by Janine Watson. The play is set in the late 17th Century, the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment. and King Charles is keen for the greatest scientists of his generation to come up with some new discoveries of the natural world. He charges brilliant young astronomer Edmund Halley, of Halley’s Comet fame, with the task of going to see reclusive, brilliant physicist Isaac Newton to find out whether he has made any progress. The play sees Newton  come up with one one of the landmark theories in the history of physics, the discovery of the gravitational forces that are ‘uniform’ across the  universe.

NEARER THE GODS is apparently one of Williamson’s own personal favourite plays. It does hold up well.This is certainly a play in which Williamson gives us a lot to think about…

One  would think that people with a very high intellect would also have a high level of emotional maturity. Williamson proves this to be a false premise with the men in NEARER THE GODS behaving in a petty, vindictive and ego driven way. Williamson shows us the darker side to human endeavour and  achievement.

Janine Watson directs the production with great assurance. All the performances are good. Special mention for Sean O’Shea’s pompous King Charles ii, Gareth Davies as the irascible Isaac Newton, Claudia Ware (understudy) as Robert Hooke and Rowan Davie was great as Edmund Halley.

During the interval Davies and Rowie stayed on stage wading their way through articles that were strewn across the stage.

Hugh O’Connor’s set and costume design worked well. There was a bit of a wow moment when the back stage curtain is opened and a starry night sky is revealed.

Recommended, David Williamson’s NEARER THE GODS is playing the Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli  until the 23rd April 2022.