Other Notable Productions
This is a small sampling of English as well as foreign language productions of Life of Galileo, selected not on the basis of star power or press attention, but to demonstrate a wide variety of styles and interpretations of the play.
New York Actors' Theater - 1978
Opened on April 5, 1978 at the Havemeyer Theater (Columbia University) in New York City
Translated by Ralph Mannheim and Wolfgang Sauerlander (3rd version)
Directed by Rudy Caringi with set design by James Triton
Cast included Laurence Luckinbill as Galileo
The New York Actors' Theater made their debut with this well-received production of Galileo. Havemeyer Theater is actually Havemeyer Hall--a lecture room at Columbia University where nurses had taken their examinations earlier in the week and the late Harold Urey had announced his discovery of heavy water. The academic milieu was intentional; the didactic drama was presented as a scientific debate with blackboards covered with notes behind the action, pitched to an audience in steeply rising tiers of seats. The placards at the beginning of each scene were delivered by actors that would rise from the first row of seats and the entire cast was uniformly costumed in professorial smocks. The quality of the acting varied, but most commentators agreed that Laurence Luckinbill was a commanding Galileo. The New York Times described the production as "intellectually and atmospherically perfect."
Translated by Ralph Mannheim and Wolfgang Sauerlander (3rd version)
Directed by Rudy Caringi with set design by James Triton
Cast included Laurence Luckinbill as Galileo
The New York Actors' Theater made their debut with this well-received production of Galileo. Havemeyer Theater is actually Havemeyer Hall--a lecture room at Columbia University where nurses had taken their examinations earlier in the week and the late Harold Urey had announced his discovery of heavy water. The academic milieu was intentional; the didactic drama was presented as a scientific debate with blackboards covered with notes behind the action, pitched to an audience in steeply rising tiers of seats. The placards at the beginning of each scene were delivered by actors that would rise from the first row of seats and the entire cast was uniformly costumed in professorial smocks. The quality of the acting varied, but most commentators agreed that Laurence Luckinbill was a commanding Galileo. The New York Times described the production as "intellectually and atmospherically perfect."
Peoples' Art Theater - 1979
Opened on May 31, 1979 at the People's Art Theatre in Beijing, China
Directed by Huang Zuolin
Brecht's foray into Communist China was complicated, a sort of love-hate relationship despite Brecht's proclaimed Marxism and the fact that he vocally indebted himself to traditional Chinese theatre practices. For example, during the period of the Gang of Four his work was expressly prohibited. This 1979 production marked the first contemporary foreign play staged in China since 1966 (the fall of the Gang of Four). The cast crew interpreted the play as analogous to China's coming into a "new age." Director Huang stated, "We keep the play's central idea of the scientist's responsibility to society and of science breaking through superstition, and at the same time emphasize the idea of democracy that runs through the play." The anti-illusionist staging borrowed heavily from traditional Chinese theatre--for example, choreographed Chinese dance appeared in both the masked ball and the carnival scene and the show "borrowed, in character representation, make-up, and costume, the 'character-illuminating principle' from Chinese opera and coupled the stage language with precise and incisive gestures in order to reveal the individual types and their social role." In China, the production roused a stir and was hailed as a breakthrough, running for 80 performances that were highly praised by critics and audience alike.
Directed by Huang Zuolin
Brecht's foray into Communist China was complicated, a sort of love-hate relationship despite Brecht's proclaimed Marxism and the fact that he vocally indebted himself to traditional Chinese theatre practices. For example, during the period of the Gang of Four his work was expressly prohibited. This 1979 production marked the first contemporary foreign play staged in China since 1966 (the fall of the Gang of Four). The cast crew interpreted the play as analogous to China's coming into a "new age." Director Huang stated, "We keep the play's central idea of the scientist's responsibility to society and of science breaking through superstition, and at the same time emphasize the idea of democracy that runs through the play." The anti-illusionist staging borrowed heavily from traditional Chinese theatre--for example, choreographed Chinese dance appeared in both the masked ball and the carnival scene and the show "borrowed, in character representation, make-up, and costume, the 'character-illuminating principle' from Chinese opera and coupled the stage language with precise and incisive gestures in order to reveal the individual types and their social role." In China, the production roused a stir and was hailed as a breakthrough, running for 80 performances that were highly praised by critics and audience alike.
Olivier National Theatre - 1980
Opened on August 13, 1980 at the Olivier National Theatre in London, England
Translated by Howard Brenton
Directed by John Dexter
Cast included Sir Michael Gambon as Galileo
This production was directed by Dexter largely as a depoliticized autobiographical piece, transposing Brecht's persecuted life in exile onto Galileo's persecuted life in Italy. Reviews were somewhat mixed but overall the production was a success with the public, some reviewers claiming that Dexter had rescued Brecht from British obscurity and many echoing his conception of the play as dramatic biography of the playwright as well as the scientist. Brenton's translation was overflowing and argumentative, the longest translated version to date.
Translated by Howard Brenton
Directed by John Dexter
Cast included Sir Michael Gambon as Galileo
This production was directed by Dexter largely as a depoliticized autobiographical piece, transposing Brecht's persecuted life in exile onto Galileo's persecuted life in Italy. Reviews were somewhat mixed but overall the production was a success with the public, some reviewers claiming that Dexter had rescued Brecht from British obscurity and many echoing his conception of the play as dramatic biography of the playwright as well as the scientist. Brenton's translation was overflowing and argumentative, the longest translated version to date.
Philippine Educational Theater Association - 1981
Opened in 1981 at PETA in Manila, the Philippines
Translated by Alan Glinoga
Directed by Fritz Bennewitz
Cast included Joel Lamangan as Galileo
Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) is a non-stock, non-profit and non-governmental theater organization based in the Philippines. It is engaged in the development of society and people, enriching theater forms and techniques that express local, national, and universal themes. Their production of Galileo in 1981 focused opposition to the Marcos dictatorship on the issues of authoritarian control of knowledge and the social responsibility of the scientist. In this case, the play specifically raised issues associated with a contemporary campaign opposing the construction of a controversial nuclear power plant in the Philippines. This plant, while promising to provide power for many newly located foreign multinational subsidiaries, was seen by the opposition as both ecologically unsound and threatening to a Filipino national industrial sector that stood to lose much in the face of competition from the multinationals.
Translated by Alan Glinoga
Directed by Fritz Bennewitz
Cast included Joel Lamangan as Galileo
Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) is a non-stock, non-profit and non-governmental theater organization based in the Philippines. It is engaged in the development of society and people, enriching theater forms and techniques that express local, national, and universal themes. Their production of Galileo in 1981 focused opposition to the Marcos dictatorship on the issues of authoritarian control of knowledge and the social responsibility of the scientist. In this case, the play specifically raised issues associated with a contemporary campaign opposing the construction of a controversial nuclear power plant in the Philippines. This plant, while promising to provide power for many newly located foreign multinational subsidiaries, was seen by the opposition as both ecologically unsound and threatening to a Filipino national industrial sector that stood to lose much in the face of competition from the multinationals.
Olivier National Theatre - 2006
Opened on July 6, 2006 at the Olivier National Theatre in London, England
Translated by David Hare
Directed by Howard Davies with set design by Bunny Christie
Cast included Simon Russell-Beale as Galileo
The National honored the 50th anniversary of Brecht's death with this show. This modern-dress production focused on social responsibility and the conflict between science and faith. Beale's performance was highly lauded and the production as a whole received positive reviews. The Olivier's revolving set deconstructed to alternately become Galileo's home, ballroom, papal palace and scene of his last, sequestered living quarters. And throughout the course of the play, whenever the scientist looked through his telescope, his view of the heavens became the audience's own as the circular backdrop above the stage mirrored the celestial scene. One reviewer applauded the bold choice for modern-dress as "true to the spirit of Brecht by "alienating" the audience: he has forced us to re-examine what was in danger of becoming a museum classic." Hare's extremely pared-down translation took quite a bit of liberty, deleting numerous speeches, all of the scene titles and songs (thereby removing vital information about time and place), and turning the carnival scene into a puppet show celebrating "Galileo the Bible-Buster."
Translated by David Hare
Directed by Howard Davies with set design by Bunny Christie
Cast included Simon Russell-Beale as Galileo
The National honored the 50th anniversary of Brecht's death with this show. This modern-dress production focused on social responsibility and the conflict between science and faith. Beale's performance was highly lauded and the production as a whole received positive reviews. The Olivier's revolving set deconstructed to alternately become Galileo's home, ballroom, papal palace and scene of his last, sequestered living quarters. And throughout the course of the play, whenever the scientist looked through his telescope, his view of the heavens became the audience's own as the circular backdrop above the stage mirrored the celestial scene. One reviewer applauded the bold choice for modern-dress as "true to the spirit of Brecht by "alienating" the audience: he has forced us to re-examine what was in danger of becoming a museum classic." Hare's extremely pared-down translation took quite a bit of liberty, deleting numerous speeches, all of the scene titles and songs (thereby removing vital information about time and place), and turning the carnival scene into a puppet show celebrating "Galileo the Bible-Buster."
City Theatre - 2010
Opened on January 31, 2010 at City Theatre in Tehran, Iran
Translated based on the 1939 (first version) of the play
Directed by Dariush Farhang
This politically-loaded staging of Galileo reflected the post-election crisis. Based on the first version, the script highlights Galileo's struggle to triumph over dogma with truth. Farhang said that he reinterpreted the play to draw "a contrast between logic and ignorance, modernity and ancientness" for the annual Fajr festival, a cultural event preceding the Feb. 11 anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. During a newly devised nightmare sequence, 14 men and women dressed all in black surround Galileo, representing the inquisition and prefiguring his demise. A guillotine hovers in the corner during this scene and the one in which Galileo recants. The writers also added verses from the late Iranian dissident Ahmad Shamlu’s poetry. When actor Amin Taroukh, who plays Galileo, referring to one of Shamlu's works, defiantly tells the pope, "this snow is not going to stop," he drew the raucous applause of the audience, who smirked, sighed or even wept at dialogues that were adapted to subtly refer to post-election events and arguments. In another line taken from Shamlu, one of Galileo's friends proclaims, "I am not afraid of death in a society where the wage of a gravedigger is more than a human being’s dignity and honor." The score included sorrowful church requiems and the winter portion of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." When Galileo declared, "We are a miserable nation because we need heroes" the audience roared with applause.
Translated based on the 1939 (first version) of the play
Directed by Dariush Farhang
This politically-loaded staging of Galileo reflected the post-election crisis. Based on the first version, the script highlights Galileo's struggle to triumph over dogma with truth. Farhang said that he reinterpreted the play to draw "a contrast between logic and ignorance, modernity and ancientness" for the annual Fajr festival, a cultural event preceding the Feb. 11 anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. During a newly devised nightmare sequence, 14 men and women dressed all in black surround Galileo, representing the inquisition and prefiguring his demise. A guillotine hovers in the corner during this scene and the one in which Galileo recants. The writers also added verses from the late Iranian dissident Ahmad Shamlu’s poetry. When actor Amin Taroukh, who plays Galileo, referring to one of Shamlu's works, defiantly tells the pope, "this snow is not going to stop," he drew the raucous applause of the audience, who smirked, sighed or even wept at dialogues that were adapted to subtly refer to post-election events and arguments. In another line taken from Shamlu, one of Galileo's friends proclaims, "I am not afraid of death in a society where the wage of a gravedigger is more than a human being’s dignity and honor." The score included sorrowful church requiems and the winter portion of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." When Galileo declared, "We are a miserable nation because we need heroes" the audience roared with applause.
Classic Stage Company - 2012
Opened on February 1, 2012 at in New York City
Translated by Charles Laughton
Directed by Brain Kulick with set design by Adrianne Lobel
Cast included F. Murray Abraham as Galileo
One reviewer favorably compared this off-Broadway production's staging to a "space show at the Hayden Planetarium." The set employed suspended globes and rings, digital projections of astronomical images, and a stage floor modeled after a giant sun dial. Kulick attempted not to impose contemporary events on the show and rather let the play speak for itself. Bucking convention, Kulick left the final border scene in and it played to great effect, "underscor[ing] the play’s progress from optimism in human possibility to disappointment. The outcome of this final dialectical exchange between educated man and superstitious boy suggests that the power of doubt, hailed by Galileo as the precursor of knowledge, can be a sword that cuts both ways." The production alternately garnered ambivalence and praise from critics, though Abraham largely received rave reviews for his turn as Galileo.
Translated by Charles Laughton
Directed by Brain Kulick with set design by Adrianne Lobel
Cast included F. Murray Abraham as Galileo
One reviewer favorably compared this off-Broadway production's staging to a "space show at the Hayden Planetarium." The set employed suspended globes and rings, digital projections of astronomical images, and a stage floor modeled after a giant sun dial. Kulick attempted not to impose contemporary events on the show and rather let the play speak for itself. Bucking convention, Kulick left the final border scene in and it played to great effect, "underscor[ing] the play’s progress from optimism in human possibility to disappointment. The outcome of this final dialectical exchange between educated man and superstitious boy suggests that the power of doubt, hailed by Galileo as the precursor of knowledge, can be a sword that cuts both ways." The production alternately garnered ambivalence and praise from critics, though Abraham largely received rave reviews for his turn as Galileo.