The Physicists

Murder, an insane asylum, and patients believing they’re some of the greatest physicists ever…what could go wrong? Written by Friedrich Durrenmatt in 1961, this is the story of three patients in an insane asylum. The first patient we meet is Herbert Georg Beutler (played by Gera Hermann) who believes he is Sir Isaac Newton. The second is Ernst Heinrich Ernesti (played by Brendan Weinhold) who believes he is Albert Einstein. The third is Johann Wilhelm Mobius (played by Josh Mann) who has King Solomon appearing and speaking to him. When a murder is committed by Einstein, Inspector Richard Voss (played by Phil Ward) comes to the asylum to investigate. He speaks to the woman in charge, Fraulein Doktor Mathilde Von Zahnd (played by Jacque Lyn... full review

The 1961 play's timeless theme and satirical treatment of the ethics and responsibility of scientists still leaves an impact, but as it ages the distance between farce and the inquiry into metaphysical contradictions and their solutions widens, and we no longer have great play or dialectical insight. Complicating that is Ye'ela Rosenfeld's treatment here is far too self-important, and the staging is simply too labored, with some excruciatingly long pauses that make some scenes downright interminable (the play runs almost 2 hours). This is supposed to be a funny, fast-paced play, and when I saw it the house was nearly full yet still quiet. Additionally, even with some very capable actors, the tone was all over the map and the physical humo... full review