The Scotsman

Science takes centre stage

Complex theories are brought to life as the Edinburgh Internatio­nal Science Festival uses theatre to explain the world around us in accessible ways

- Joyce Mcmillan @joycemcm

There was a time, in the late 20th century, when it seemed as if the worlds of science and the arts had drifted apart, never to be reconciled. The writer and scientist C P Snow delivered a famous 1959 lecture on the theme called ‘The Two Cultures’, and wrote anxious novels illustrati­ng the divide; and to some extent, his nightmares have come true, as most of us now depend from day to day on a hugely sophistica­ted digital technology we don’t understand, and can’t begin to fix or build for ourselves.

Yet in the last few decades, there has been a powerful push back against that growing sense of distance between science and “the humanities”; and part of that movement, since its first edition in 1989, has been the Edinburgh Internatio­nal Science Festival, inspired from the start by the idea that the city’s Enlightenm­ent began in a rich melting-pot of science, philosophy and the arts, and that the same combinatio­n is always needed for each strand of our culture to work at its best. And nothing expresses that aspect of the Science Festival’s work more vividly than its recent growing commitment to working with Scotland’s theatre companies – and particular­ly with the flourishin­g children’s theatre scene – to create shows that will draw audiences into scientific discovery and debate in completely new ways.

So this year’s Festival – which began last weekend, and rolls on until Sunday 15 April – includes a dozen theatre shows, all but one of them (last weekend’s exploratio­n of Kafka’s

Metamorpho­sis through the eyes of novelist and entomologi­st Vladimir Nabokov) mainly aimed at children and young people. This year’s flagship production, commission­ed by the Science Festival and running at Summerhall until tomorrow, is

Valentina’s Galaxy, a show for two to five-year-olds by Moray-based children’s theatre company Frozen Charlotte, inspired by the story of the first-ever woman in space, the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, and also by the remarkable life and work of Mae Jemison, the first black American woman in space, and a trained dancer.

“Our designer Katie Wilson and I hatched up the idea of a show about Valentina in an Imaginate workshop a couple of years ago,” says Heather Fulton of Frozen Charlotte. “But it was the Science Festival commission that transforme­d it into a reality, in fairly quick time. They’ve been really supportive, and we’ve had the advice of our own scientist, Dr Alastair Bruce of Edinburgh University, and also sessions with the Festival’s communicat­ions team, who are experts in explaining scientific ideas in accessible ways.

“And what I’ve learned is that theatre and science fit together really naturally, as ways of explaining and exploring the world. When we first took this on, I thought it might be a bit of a shoehorn exercise, but it hasn’t been like that at all – just the reverse.”

Valentina’s Galaxy is the festival’s only fully commission­ed piece this year; but the festival has also been working in associatio­n with two other Scottish companies, Red Bridge and Tortoise In A Nutshell, to create new shows for 2018. At the Scottish Storytelli­ng Centre today Red Bridge will present legendary storytelle­r Andy Cannon in his new show Space Ape, inspired by the apes and chimpanzee­s who were sent into space in the mid-20th century, to pave the way for human space flight, and by Scottish artist Kenny Hunter’s remarkable sculpture of the same name.

“I’ve always found the Science Festival really inspiring, ever since it was launched,” says Andy Cannon, “and it’s a real joy to be involved in this feeling of bringing together different strands of life and thought – in the same way they came together in Edinburgh in the 18th century.” And Edinburgh-based puppet and animation company Tortoise In A Nutshell will present a work-inprogress performanc­e of their latest show The Ornithopte­r, an installati­on piece about a man who wants to build a space rocket in the back garden.

The 2018 theatre programme also includes a swift re-run of Mamoru Iriguchi’s 2017 Fringe hit Eaten, which – like Space Ape – emerged from a Science Festival Scratch Night held back in 2016, and The Element

In The Room, a “radioactiv­e musical comedy” about the life and death of the great scientist Marie Curie; and the Science Festival’s Events Developer, Terence Finnegan, is delighted with this year’s programme.

“Right from the start, the Science Festival has always had this identity of being more focussed on children than other festivals,” says Finnegan, “and of having a lot of expertise at bringing scientific ideas to audiences of children. It’s also true that this year we haven’t matched what we did last year in linking with the main theatres in Edinburgh to sponsor grown-up debate around shows with scientific themes, for example with A Number at the Lyceum.

“What we want to do, though, is to maintain our reputation as a great festival for kids, while making it increasing­ly clear that this is also an event that offers a way into scientific ideas and debate for adults. And it’s just incredibly exciting and fascinatin­g for us, as an organisati­on that exists to communicat­e about science, to work with top theatre artists who are so good at what they do, and can weave great science into an exciting, compelling, emotional experience. What’s happening in those shows is that every element of theatre – the movement, the design, the words – is being used in a way that’s scientific­ally accurate as well as artistical­ly exciting.”

“I’ve learned that theatre and science fit together really naturally, as ways of explaining and exploring the world”

The EISF theatre programme continues until next weekend; details on https://www.sciencefes­tival.co.uk

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The Science Festival has a reputation for being more focussed on children than other festivals
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