Catch Copenhagen Showcased By Michael Frayn Expressed As Print

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Benedict Cumberbatch, Greta Scacchi and Simon Russell Beale star in Michael Frayn's awardwinning play about the controversialmeeting between physicists Bohr and Heisenberg, part of a joint Radioand Radioseries of three Michael Frayn dramas for radio including new adaptations of his novels, 'Skios' and 'Headlong'.


Being a physicist myself, this dialog between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg was widely discussed during my graduation studies,

For further information, please take a look at sitelinkThe Mysterious Meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg,

I also recommend Einstein's book sitelinkThe Evolution of Physics: From Early Concepts to Relativity and Quanta,

A movie sitelinkCopenhagen was made based on this story, starring Daniel Craig and Stephen Rea,

I have been listening to a few old plays this weekend and this one really touched me, Its the story of German physicist Werner Heisenbergs visit to Danish physicist Niels Bohr in Copenhagen in, The two had worked on quantum mechanics and revolutionized atomic physics in the past, but now the world had changed and the two men were on opposite sides in a world war and Denmark was under German occupation.
The story focuses on physics and the atomic bomb, but most of all on relationships and ethics, Two hours well spent. You live and breathe paradox and contradiction, but you can no more see the beauty of them than the fish can see the beauty of the water


It was provocative to read this when midway through Sof True Detective.
Both entities plumb the nebulous foundation of memory, Both resound with a perhaps amateur understanding of the Uncertainty Principle, Frayn explores the translation of term in his lengthy afterward Alas, Copenhagen features physicists Bohr and Heisenberg and the artistry of this representation appears almost musicalthough likewise abstract.
There is an active interrogation of culpability which is more a meditation on agency, I thoroughly enjoyed that. Almost.stars

At one point in the play Bohr says to Heisenberg and I paraphrase don't assume that because my country is a smaller piece of

land compared to yours, that i don't feel the same sense of patriotism to it that you do.
To this Heisenberg replies later in the same conversation don't assume my need to defend my country is any weaker just because I know it is in the wrong.


This is the essence of the conflict that two eminent scientists with giant leap contributions to modern physics find themselves embroiled with,

Michael Frayn takes the historical reference to one chance and completely unexpected inexplicable almost improper meeting between Bohr and Heisenberg once close as father and son and now sitting squarely on opposite sides of a war with consequences neither had yet grasped though they were at the very moment working towards it and spins a fictional account of what might have transpired all the while emphasizing that the protagonists themselves may have never truly known their own motivations let alone the other's.


The fabulous interplay of science and politics and how war might have accelerated mankind's progress at the cost of human life itself, the morality of impossible choices and the whatifs of unprovable rationalisations are brought forth via uncertain, almost elemental dialogue how's that for pun and makes for a thought provoking, almost wistful read.
Copenhagen explores the "secret" meeting that took place between Heisenberg and Neils Bohr, two Nobel laureates, discussing atom bombs, This incident took place inand history asserts this specific meeting, Frayn provides a fictional account of this meeting,

Heisenberg, once Bohr's protege, remains with Germany during World War II, This puts him and Bohr on the opposite sides of the war, With scientific minds scattered across Europe and the United States, scientific and technological progress took a competitive turn, Heisenberg is isolated in German given he was a Jew and misses out on Fermi's fission success by two years, Einstein is working on Manhattan project with Oppenheimer, With this background, the play begins with Bohr and his wife waiting for Heisenberg to arrive,

Frayn explores the two scientists based on historical accounts available on the two, They are two men who were once close finding themselves in the opposite side of the war and the argument regarding atom bombs, Frayn explores the intertwined notions of scientific inquiry, genuine research, war propaganda and moral compromises, Its a sad fact that science and technology progresses at an alarming pace when wars are involved, The good, the bad and the ugly are discussed but only on retrospection one would realize the complexity of the times they were living in,

The interconnected nature of science and personality is the essence of the conversation, Excellent and thought provoking play about the meeting between Bohr and Heisenberg during the war the slightly pretentious commentary doesnt add much but does place the play in the context of the themes Frayn pursues in his wider work especially about the impossibility of understanding ones own motivations let alone anothers and how a novel rather than play can imply greater comprehension than possible and while Frayns own postscript gives too much of the latest analysis by historians of what happened, it does when read quickly give a good background for the play making comprehension of the plot easy.
From an unlikely topic quantum physics Frayn creates a moving drama, The play ventures into the obscure and counterintuitive world of quantum physics where the playwright overlays the theories of the characters with their personalities, The idea is cleverly presented as the characters after death, the dialogue flitting through different periods of time, This creates an environment where time is elusive and nonlinear, Like quantum physics

The discussions about the appropriateness of helping create an apocalyptic weapon and handing it to a homicidal maniac are brilliant, Those are gripping and provoking sections appropriate for our times and all times,

The play, though, peters out in the middle, I noticed this in reading the play and seeing it performed, The farther the play ventures from the core German question to build or not to build a bomb, the less gripping it becomes,

The long stretches at the end of the first act and starting the second where they talk about the creation of uncertainty and complementarity go flat.
The play moves from people and the world, to ideas and theories, and there loses the wonderful frisson it once had,

I get it, In these sections Frayn is presenting the theories that he will use to explain the personalities of Heisenberg and Bohr, It felt to me that the play wandered from its main focus, And the payoff of this idea that the man matches the theory is not that great, At least not for me, Its not until the discussion turns back to Germany that the play again finds its power,

With some tightening, this could have been one of the greatest oneacts or short plays evert written,

But I quibble, and I dont want to make the very good the enemy of the perfect, Its very much worth reading/seeing, I highly recommend it.
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