They say:
BAFTA Award-winning film director Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) returns to the Young Vic after his celebrated production of A Season in the Congo.Now, great CVs for the creative team do not necessarily equal a great production (see Salome as case in point). In this case, however, everything about Life of Galileo turned out glorious, from the performances to the music to the design to the projections of the cosmos.
Brendan Cowell plays Galileo following his acclaimed performance in Yerma. Galileo makes an explosive discovery about the universe with his new invention – the telescope.
Performed in-the-round on a stunning set designed by Lizzie Clachan (Yerma, A Season in the Congo), the show features original music by The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands and projections by 59 Productions (Feast, War Horse).
Brendan Cowell, particularly, is a bold, mercurial Galileo, and watching him, you can't help but think they could power the whole theatre with his energy. The re-imagined Young Vic space gives him a huge arena in which to play out Galileo's ideas, and Brecht's politics, and the music direction gives everything a quick pulse.
Above the stage is a curved dome, used as a screen for projections of the universe.
It's a bit mad, in a beautiful way, but whilst the visuals are captivating, they aren't the only quirk of design used to keep things interesting in the ostensibly blank stage space. Retractable steps, re-purposed props, and the cast working in and out of the floor-seated audience means that the production is visually dynamic.
The only place the relentless pace stuttered was towards the end, where some of the monologuing seemed to drag a bit as the politics Brecht originally explored now seem dated. This is a minor drawback, however, and the fact remains that this is a fabulous production, and well worth your time.
Definitely one to catch.
4/5: Big, brash, bold and beautiful
The Young Vic
Until July 1st
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