Michael Frayn’s play Copenhagen is a philosophical, moral mystery set around a meeting between Danish physicist Niels Bohr (Richard Schiff), his wife, Margrethe (Alex Kingston) and German physicist Werner Heisenberg (Damien Molony) in 1941.
The two men had once worked closely together, but the war saw Germany invade and occupy Denmark, leaving the half-Jewish Bohr in a precarious position.
Heisenberg, who was involved in developing nuclear energy for the Nazis, made a surprise visit to Bohr in Copenhagen, but what was discussed remains a mystery. What is known is that the meeting was short and didn’t end on good terms.
Frahn’s play imagines versions of the conversation from different angles, with Margrethe sometimes acting as commentator.
Was the meeting about Heisenberg assuaging his conscience because of the work he was doing for the Nazis? Was he warning Bohr and, in doing so, undertaking a covert act of sabotage?
Knowing that Bohr had connections with the Allies, was he trying to find out about their nuclear weapon programme?
The play doesn’t shy away from acknowledging that no one actually knows what was said at this meeting, drawing a parallel to Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle.
Instead, the imagined conversations throws science and morality into the spotlight.
Being dialogue heavy, Copenhagen risks being a static play, and this production fights that with a circular stage that has an outer strip and an inner circle that can both rotate.
Movement and lighting are used as markers to denote the start of a different version of the physicists’ conversation. When the two men ‘go out’ to talk, they walk or stand on the slowly moving outer circle.
The characters circle each other both physically and verbally, but it can occasionally feel like the play is running in circles. And ‘activity’, such as moving chairs, becomes a distraction.
Margrethe feels like a small role for Alex Kingston, but she gives a powerful performance, acting as a subtle emotional compass.
Damien Molony has the most interesting part, playing out the shifts and moral dilemmas in the conversation versions with an intense ‘youthful’ energy which contrasts with the older ‘wiser’ portrayal of Heisenberg by Schiff.
Final thoughts
Copenhagen is a dense, wordy play that demands a lot of focus. It is thought-provoking, but occasionally feels like a labour, and I’m not sure the staging always helped. I’m giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Copenhagen, Hampstead Theatre
Written by Michael Frahn
Directed by Michael Longhurst
Cast: Richard Schiff, Alex Kingston and Damien Molony
Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes
Booking until 2 May; visit the Hampstead Theatre website for more details and to buy tickets.
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