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The Physicists

Samantha Bond stars as a psychiatrist in Friedrich Durrenmatt's classic farce about three theoretical physicists who believe they are Einstein, Newton and M枚bius.

Samantha Bond stars as a psychiatrist in this classic European farce by Friedrich D眉rrenmatt about three theoretical physicists who believe they are Einstein, Newton and M枚bius. They are locked in a lunatic asylum and each gets tangled in vicious murders. Amidst all the jokes is a real relationship between a scientist who may or may not be mad and his nurse who wants to save him. The Physicists was first performed in 1962 at the height of the Cold War.

The serious subject behind the farce is what to do with the knowledge of weapons of mass destruction once let out of the genie's bottle. Who controls that knowledge? Can scientists remain free, even in the free world?

The music soundtrack is from Bernard Herrmann's less well known score to Fahrenheit 451.

1 hour, 30 minutes

Last on

Sun 4 Sep 2016 23:00

Credits

Role Contributor
Writer Friedrich Durrenmatt
Composer Bernard Herrmann
Doctor Von Zahnd Samantha Bond
Inspector Geoffrey Whitehead
Mobius John Hodgkinson
Newton Thom Tuck
Einstein John Bett
Nurse Monika/Mrs Rose Madeleine Worrall
Head Nurse Yonnie Fraser
Mr Rose Andrew Watson
Producer Matt Thompson

Broadcasts

  • Sun 20 Jan 2013 20:30
  • Sun 4 Sep 2016 23:00