The Half Life of Marie Curie at Redwood Curtain
The Half Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson is a glimpse into the lives of two historical women of science, Marie Curie and Hertha Ayrton. The events that took place during their lives and their part in them changed them and the world. Gunderson tells their stories through the lens of their friendship during one idyllic summer on the British coast. They both knew their worth and did not let the fears and insecurities of the patriarchy diminish them.
They knew the value of their relationships — with each other and their families. Curie, played by Cassandra Hesseltine in the Redwood Curtain Theatre’s ongoing production, is still a household name: the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to this day to win a second in a different discipline. She coined the term “radiation,” and was friends with another brilliant scientist of the early 20th century, Ayrton, played by Peggy Metzger. Ayrton was a British electrical engineer, inventor and suffragette. She figured out why the first electric light bulbs were so terribly noisy and fixed it. “You’re welcome,” she tells the audience in her opening narration.
History remembers them as women scientists, but in the play, they know themselves to be brilliant scientists, better than their peers within the patriarchal structure of their world. Their spirits could not be dampened. They commiserate with each other and poke fun at the patriarchy. They also lament the loss of their husbands, whom they love with the same passion and dedication they have for their work. They adore their children and work toward a better world for them.
Informative and amusing monologues by both characters get the audience caught up to the moment in the lives of these women where the story unfolds. Curie, a widow for several years at this point, had been having an affair with a married man whose wife has exposed them to the press. She loses her job, her lab and her privacy. She is in a state of despair when Ayrton storms through an off-stage throng of journalists into Curie’s home in Paris. The deep connection between them is immediately apparent. Ayrton supports her friend without question. She convinces her to spend the summer at her house in England. Resistant at first, Curie finally makes the trip. Ayrton is indomitable, a powerhouse of optimism. Curie is passionate and hurting. Bereft of lover, lab, husband and home, she grieves in the safe comfort of her friends’ caring and ferocious love. Curie has lost so much in her life, she is unsure who she is anymore. The women air their frustrations with the patriarchal authorities that have kept them from living and working as freely as their male counterparts. They also have high praises for their late husbands, who supported them every step of the way, and wish more men were similar.
But even besties have fallouts and theirs is every bit as passionate as their friendship. Their inevitable reconciliation is honest but made awkward by pride on both their parts. They tell the rest of their stories in what Gunderson describes as a “co-monologue.”
On opening night, Metzger and Hesseltine filled the stage with great contrasting energy that drew the audience into the stories of their characters. Hesseltine plays Curie with a rich, aching, irresistible burning passion, and she does nothing on the stage by half-measures. Metzger is bold and fierce, with the spirit of a warrior shining through every stance and gesture. The different energies never compete with or outshine each other, but lift and compliment one another. It is a joy to see such accomplished actors — for whom this is the first time appearing on stage despite decades of collaboration — have an opportunity to play rich, complex characters.
The lighting, designed by Michael Foster, is dynamic and rich. Tammy Rae Scott has designed an interesting soundscape, marking each character with a unique sound — Curie with the click-click-click of the radium, Ayrton with the rush of the sea. Whenever the action on stage responds to something off-stage, there is never any doubt about what occurs out of sight, thanks to the combined skills of Foster and Scott. Nanette Voss’ and Julie Benson’s direction ensured a consistent and cohesive story that fills the theater with the breadth of events and emotions throughout the play. The set (Voss and Brian Butler), costumes (Megan Hughes), makeup and hair (Lily Herlihy) all manage that fine line of putting the story firmly in time and space without being fussy or overwhelming.
Gunderson often writes about historical figures and events through a feminist lens in modernized dialogue. What that does for me is remind me of the most important and least emphasized fact about any historical figure — they were, each one of them, human beings. Curie and Ayrton were so much more than their experiments and inventions. They were messy, loving and passionate in completely different ways. Perhaps if history was taught through the art of drama, we would better remember who got us here, and how.
“Half-life. The moment an element transforms so fully that it is more other than self,” Curie explains in her opening monologue. At what point do the characters reach their half-life? Can people lose pieces of themselves until they are wholly different as radium does until it is lead? The Half Life of Marie Curie is a feel-good play with strong emotional pulls that still makes me contemplate deeper meanings behind the metaphors and facts presented. Above all else, I wish for everyone the kind of devoted friendship that Marie Curie and Hertha Ayrton had.
Redwood Curtain Theatre’s production of The Half-Life of Marie Curie continues through Feb. 21 with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Visit ncrt.net or redwoodcurtain.com.
Doranna Benker Gilkey (she/her) is a Humboldt denizen and co-owner of Dandar’s Boardgames and Books.
COMING SOON
The Eureka Theater hosts an updated production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues Feb. 13-15. Call (707) 442-2970.
This article appears in Arcata Rises Up for Fire Victims.