Theatre department adds drama to science event

David Brian Alley plays Werner Heisenberg, Linda Stephens is Margrethe Bohr and Dan Kremer plays Neils Bohr in Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of “Copenhagen.”

David Brian Alley plays Werner Heisenberg, Linda Stephens is Margrethe Bohr and Dan Kremer plays Neils Bohr in Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of “Copenhagen.”

In science, charged opposites always attract; in real life, that's not always the case.

But when University of Tennessee physics professor Soren P. Sorensen approached the theatre department about doing a play for an upcoming international science conference in Knoxville called "Quark Matter 2009," it was a perfect match.

"The Physics Department approached us and said, 'We'd love it if you had a play that related to it (the conference),' " said Kate Buckley, assistant professor in UT's theatre department. "We all put our heads together" and decided "that 'Copenhagen' is the best play to do for this conference."

The play portrays the story of a German physicist named Werner Heisenberg who travels to Copenhagen to speak with his Danish colleague, Niels Bohr, at the brink of World War II. The old friends find themselves caught in a race to create the atom bomb on opposing sides. Their reason for meeting remains a mystery.

"It was a secret conversation," said Buckley, who will direct the play. "Nobody to this day knows what happened during that conversation."

This three-person play imagines the dialogue between Heisenberg and Bohr and puts the audience in the middle of one of the most tense periods of history.

" 'Copenhagen' hypothesizes about how this event may have set off a chain reaction that altered the history of the world," said Buckley. "It invites you into a provocative conversation about the moral responsibilities of science."

As to the responsibilities of the theater - since physicists will be coming from all over the world to Knoxville for the conference and to the play - Buckley knew she had to get the science right.

"As a nonscientist, understanding the science was a challenge," said Buckley. "We're only in the second week of rehearsal; we're still learning." Luckily, Sorensen was a technical adviser for the play.

While the science may be dense, Buckley believes the play offers a deeper perspective into life.

"It's a glimpse into the humanness of science," she said. "We usually don't think that way about science. We're seeing behind it and the struggles they (scientists) go through."

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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