Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN by Michael Frayn Director: Paul King Audition dates: Sunday 9th July 2006 from 2.00pm Monday 10th July 2006 from 7.30pm Season dates: 14th September to 30th September 2006 In 1941 Werner Heisenberg, the leading German physicist of his day, made a trip to Copenhagen to visit his friend and mentor, Niels Bohr, in Nazi-occupied Denmark. They were old friends and had been close colleagues in the 1920s, when their work together had revolutionised atomic physics. But now the two men were on opposite sides in a world war. The meeting was fraught with danger and embarrassment, and ended in disaster; the two men never spoke again. Scientists and historians have argued ever since about why Heisenberg went, and what the two men said. Did Heisenberg ask Bohr about joining the German war effort? Or did he want to enlist Bohr's help in derailing Hitler's efforts to develop nuclear weapons? Michael Frayn's tantalising play is a ghostly speculation on this mysterious and extraordinary meeting between two of the pioneers of atomic physics. A psychological thriller, a scientific mystery, and a poetic remembrance, Copenhagen raises difficult questions about loyalty and the conflicts of friendship across enemy lines. Copenhagen has won many awards, including the Evening Standard Award for Best Play of the Year 1998 and the 2000 Tony Award for Best Play. CHARACTERS Niels Bohr [mid 50s] affable, gentle, ardent, paternal, quizzical. Margrethe Bohr [late 40s/early 50s] tolerant, sardonic, straightforward. Werner Heisenberg [late 30s/early 40s] hypertense, arrogant, diffident, ambitious, conscientious, calculating, impulsive. Ages are approximate. Accents will be discussed at audition. Auditions are by appointment only Please contact the Director on 9646 3226 to arrange an audition.