Date: 17 August – 22 September
Time: 2:45pm / 7:45pm
Price: From £20
1941, in the middle of the Second World War, the great German physicist Werner
Heisenberg made a strange trip to Copenhagen to see his Danish colleague Niels Bohr. They
were old friends and collaborators, and together in the 1920s they had begun to lay bare
the mysteries at the heart of the atom. But now Denmark was under German occupation,
the meeting was fraught with danger and embarrassment – and Heisenberg was burdened
with a terrible secret.
Why he went to Copenhagen and what he wanted to say to Bohr are questions which have
exercised historians ever since. In Michael Frayn’s multi award-winning drama Heisenberg
meets Bohr and his wife Margrethe once again to look for the answers, and to work out, just
as they had once worked out the internal functioning of the atom, how we can ever know
why we do what we do.
Michael Frayn is one of this country’s finest writers. Copenhagen premiered at the National
Theatre in 1998, going on to the West End and Broadway and winning over 10 major
international awards.
Michael Blakemore’s many collaborations with Michael Frayn include Democracy at the
National Theatre and the original production of Copenhagen for which he won a Tony
Award. Of his extensive London productions, 15 have earned Evening Standard or Olivier
Awards.
Charles Edwards returns to Chichester to play Heisenberg. His work ranges from Downton
Abbey on television to the original cast of This House and the forthcoming Absolute
Hell (National Theatre).
Patricia Hodge plays Margrethe. Her most recent Chichester appearance was Travels with
My Aunt (2016); her extensive work includes Miranda and Downton Abbey on television,
and Michael Frayn's Noises Off at the National Theatre.
Paul Jesson makes his Chichester debut as Bohr. His screen work includes Mr
Turner and Spooks, while extensive theatre includes Wolf Hall and Bring Up The
Bodies (RSC).
More info & Booking link: https://www.cft.org.uk/whats-on/event/copenhagen
