Jewish Chronicle

 

 London 22 April 2005

 

PHALLACY

 

New End, Hampstead

 

By JOHN NATHAN

 

                  Carl Djerassi is playwright who works from the probably unique perspective of an award-winning scientist. He invented the contraceptive pill.

 

                  His strength as a writer is in expressing ideas rather than emotions. But plays with ideas are a rare thing, so don’t knock it.

 

                  Inspired by a real-life case, Djerassi’s concerns here are about how the value of art—in this case a bronze statue thought to be of Roman origin—is defined and affected by its authenticity.

 

                  At stake are the reputations of Regina Leitner-Opfermann (Karen Archer)—head of the Viennese museum’s antiquities department where the statue is displayed as the institution’s pride and joy—and Rex Stolzfuss (Jack Klaff), the chemical scientist whose research suggests that the age of the piece is more Renaissance than Roman.

 

                  A battle ensues between the academics over who is right. Dragged into the row are their assistants Emma (Lucy Liemann) and Otto (Hamish Clark).

 

                  Djerassi also shifts the period of the play to the 16th century, where we see Don Juan of Austria (Chris Brazier) and his mother (Lynette Edwards) provide historical answers as to the fate of the original statue.

 

                  But beyond the clash between scientific and artistic approaches to art, what holds the interest in Andy Jordan’s slick and expensive-looking production are the fascinating methods deployed by experts in attributing a work of art’s origin. On this, Djerassi knows his stuff, giving the sense that both we and the play are in the hands of a capable playwright and an expert scientist.