A Life of Galileo

“Unhappy the land that has need of heroes.”

Planet: Earth. Time and Place: Italy, 1609.

Galileo looks up at the night sky, using the newly invented telescope. He observes the sun and the planets. He sees with a searingly brilliant eye, his genius and his methods have never been seen before.
But he is in danger; his enemies are everywhere, convincing the Pope that Galileo’s new ideas pose a threat to all that the World stands upon.
Soon he will be forced to defend himself and his theories against all of civilisation: in his battle for truth, Galileo has to choose between his life and his soul.

Brecht’s greatest play is a shattering and beautiful delving into the cosmos, beauty, science and truth, religion and morality, and the responsibility of Genius. Mark Ravenhill’s 2013 translation for the RSC national tour is a hugely intelligent and vibrantly theatrical venture.

(Text from Camdram)

The cast was in the middle of a rehearsal when I arrived, so the first few photos are from that scene.

hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-1
Adam Butler-Rushton and Isobel Laidler
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-3
Isobel Laidler
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-4
Joe Shalom and Elinor Lipman
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-5
Gus Mitchel, Joe Shalom and Benedict Flett
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-6
Isobel Laidler, Clemens Ollinger-Guptara and Elinor Lipman

When Zoé arrived with the costumes it was time to get the cast into their new outfits so we could take some proper promotion photos.

hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-7
Zoé Barnes and Clemens Ollinger-Guptara

The scenes depicted below may, or may not be part of the play. Most likely they are very-very-very loosely based on the plot and characters. Regardless, it was a lot of fun!

hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-10
Isobel Laidler and Adam Butler-Rushton
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-11
Adam Butler-Rushton, Isobel Laidler and Clemens Ollinger-Guptara
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-13
Isobel Laidler and Clemens Ollinger-Guptara
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-15
Isobel Laidler
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-16
Adam Butler-Rushton and Elinor Lipman
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-19
Nathaniel Hess, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Clemens Ollinger-Guptara
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-21
Clemens Ollinger-Guptara, Joe Shalom and Nathaniel Hess
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-23
Joe Shalom and Nathaniel Hess
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-25
Isobel Laidler and Joe Shalom
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-28
Elinor Lipman and Xelia Mendes-Jones
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-33
Xelia Mendes-Jones and Isobel Laidler
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-34
Isobel Laidler, Joe Shalom and Xelia Mendes-Jones

Unfortunately Galileo himself could not attend the morning session. So we met up in the evening for a few more photos.

hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-35
Adam Mirsky aka Galileo

While I was photographing Adam, this was happening in the background…

hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-37
Joe Shalom, Adam Butler-Rushton and Elinor Lipman
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-39
Adam Mirsky and Benedict Flett
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-40
Adam Mirsky and Isobel Laidler
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-41
Elinor Lipman, Isobel Laidler, Adam Butler-Rushton, Xelia Mendes-Jones, Adam Mirsky and Benedict Flett
hjorthmedh-a-life-of-galileo-43
Joe Shalom and Elinor Lipman

Reviews: Varsity (3.5/5), The Tab (3/5)

Cast
Galileo Galilei – Adam Mirsky
Virginia – Isobel Laidler
Andrea – Xelia Mendes-Jones
Mrs Sarti, Cosimo De Medici, Girl – Elinor Lipman
Ludovico – Adam Butler-Rushton
Federonzi, Bursar, Inquisitor – Joe Shalom
Mathematician, Sagredo – Benedict Flett
Little Monk – Inge-Vera Lipsius
Cardinal Barberini/Pope Urban VIII/Philosopher – Nathaniel Hess
Cardinal Bellarmin/Gaffone/Monk – Clemens Ollinger-Guptara

Production Team
Director – Gus Mitchell
Producer – Zephyr Brüggen
Sound Designer – Francesco Anselmetti
Technical Director – Andrew Tan
Costume Designer – Zoe Barnes
Publicity Designer – Alo Roosing
Photographer – Johannes Hjorth
Video Designer – Radu Thomas
Assistant Video Designer – Marina Scott
Set Design – Alo Roosing

Written by:

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.