Theatre Review - The Lightest Element

Mark Douet 

In 1925 British astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne (Maureen Beattie) claimed that the stars are made of hydrogen and helium. Her PhD advisor, Henry Norris Russell (Julian Wadham), head of Princeton Observatory, disagreed. Four years later he reached the same conclusion.

Stella Feehily’s historical drama explores Cecilia’s career over five decades and the prejudices of the time.

In 1956, Cecilia (now Payne-Gaposchkin after marriage to a Russian) is one of the world’s most eminent astronomers. Feehily focuses on Cecilia’s desire to be appointed Chair of Astronomy and become the first woman to head a Harvard department. But she has to surmount attempts to expose her as a communist sympathiser, and the sexism of her male colleagues.

When student journalist, Sally Kane (Annie Kingsnorth), requests an interview, Celia assumes it is an opportunity raise her profile. But Sally has been coerced by her boyfriend (Steffan Cennydd) to discover whether Cecilia and her husband should be reported to the House Un-American Activities Committee.

This is the main tension of Feehily’s drama, slickly directed by Hampstead stalwart Alice Hamilton. It’s fascinating stuff, and Beattie gives an engaging performance but, too often, The Lightest Element feels didactic rather than dramatic.

Several of the cast have little to do and while I sympathised with Cecilia’s tribulations as a female pioneer in a patriarchal world, I didn’t get to know her well enough to truly care about her struggle.

 

To October 12

hampsteadtheatre.com/

Originally published by Camden New Journal.