In 1941 the German physicist Werner Heisenberg made a strange trip to Copenhagen to see his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr. They were old friends and close colleagues, and they had revolutionised atomic physics in the 1920s with their work together on quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle. But now the world had changed, and the two men were on opposite sides in a world war. The meeting was fraught with danger and embarrassment, and ended in disaster. Why the German physicist Heisenberg went to Copenhagen in 1942 and what he wanted to say to the Danish physicist Bohr are questions which have exercised historians of nuclear physics ever since. In Michael Frayn's new play Heisenberg meets Bohr and his wife Margrethe once again to look for the answers, and to work out, just as they had once worked out the internal functioning of the atom, how we can ever know why we do what we do. 'Michael Frayn's tremendous new play is a piece of history, an intellectual thriller, a psychological investigation and a moral tribunal in full session.' Sunday Times
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'Michael Frayn is one of the great playwrights of our time.'
--Play Collections- Contemporary Dramatists, December, 2010
--Play Collections- Contemporary Dramatists, December, 2010
About the Author
Michael Frayn's award-winning plays include Alphabetical Order, Make and Break and Noises Off, all of which received Best Comedy of the Year awards, while Benefactors was named Best Play of the Year. Other recent works include Democracy, and Copenhagen, winner of numerous awards including the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Best Play Awards 1998. In 2007 the Donmar Warehouse premiered his new work The Crimson Hotel.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By R. Wilson
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I think the book is wonderful - though I have only read it, never seen a performance. I suppose I have two unfair advantages in reading this book. Firstly I am reading, not watching, so I can turn back and go over difficult points again thus making better sense of them. Secondly I am a physicist (though very rusty nowadays), and I have a certain love for Quantum Theory engendered by Feynman's big red book.
I can see that without these two advantages the play might be less attractive. It can't be a total turn off, though, because the play was recommended to me by a non-scientific friend who saw it in London and was very much enthralled by it.
So it may be worth a non-scientist giving it a try.
For me, the book is better than the play for a third reason: it includes a wonderful postscript exhibiting the great forensic skill that Frayn used to write the play. What may annoy some people is that the book (or play) require hard work of the reader (or audience) and still end up raising many more questions than answers. But the questions are explored with great thoroughness, and the main characters are treated so honestly, and yet tenderly.
For me the effort required was well worth it.
I can see that without these two advantages the play might be less attractive. It can't be a total turn off, though, because the play was recommended to me by a non-scientific friend who saw it in London and was very much enthralled by it.
So it may be worth a non-scientist giving it a try.
For me, the book is better than the play for a third reason: it includes a wonderful postscript exhibiting the great forensic skill that Frayn used to write the play. What may annoy some people is that the book (or play) require hard work of the reader (or audience) and still end up raising many more questions than answers. But the questions are explored with great thoroughness, and the main characters are treated so honestly, and yet tenderly.
For me the effort required was well worth it.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This play is a magnificent achievement but to appreciate it fully my advice is to read the book first for maximum understanding and enjoyment.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Copenhagen is a delight from start to finish. On stage it's mesmeric. Intelligent, moving and - despite the impression the text might give - intensely theathrical. Go and see it if you can.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic to watch on stage
I already knew the scientific background and the theory, before I went to see the play in London, not having read the book. Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2003 by Keith Appleyard
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unsolved mystery!
You might not guess it from the title, but this is the play by Michael Frayn that for several years attracted full house at Broadway and at theaters in London. Read more
Published on 27 July 2003 by Palle E T Jorgensen
2.0 out of 5 stars
As you know, Werner
I've read the book, and I saw the play this evening. Neither impressed me, despite the undoubted accuracy of the historical and technical background (I'm a science writer). Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2001
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent and stimulating
I saw this play this week. It has an internal integrity that is reassuring. In the programme notes Frayn himself draws the boundaries between what is known, what is probable, what... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2000
1.0 out of 5 stars
One of the worst books I have ever read
Simply put, this "play" is the equivalent of trash. Terrible script, terrible plot summary, just a bunch of people rambling on and on. Read more
Published on 10 Sep 1999
4.0 out of 5 stars
A clever discourse on (not) telling right from wrong
Copenhagen by Michael Frayn ((Methuen, London 1998)
The play is based on an historical incident, the visit of the great German physicist Werner Heisenberg to his earstwhile... Read more
Published on 16 Jan 1999
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