Review: Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle

Hey readers!

It's time for my review of Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle.
After watching a video of playwright Simon Stephens and director Marianne Elliott discussing their collaboration on new West End play "Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle", I decided that it would definitely be a show to see. I was intrigued by the concept of the play; it sounded very interesting. As a result of this, I woke up early on Thursday morning to seek some day seats!

The writing, by Simon Stephens, that features in Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle is to an extremely high standard. Through his cleverly written play, Stephens gives us two fascinating characters: Georgie Burns and Alex Priest. Both Alex and Georgie have a large amount of depth to them and I could analyse both of them endlessly. Georgie is a 42 year old woman who seems to suffer from some form of a mental illness. With her son having left her, she is all alone with no friends or family. She enjoys meeting strangers and pretending to be someone other than herself. Alex, on the other hand, is a 75 year old butcher. Similarly, Alex also seems to be all alone, due to the fact that his family have all died. He often speaks to his dead sister, who died when he was 8 years old, and she gives him advice on how to cope with life. These two characters find each other randomly and a friendship soon forms. It was an utterly gripping play and I would have happily watched more. When it ended, I was so eager to know what would happen to these two characters and whether they would reach their goal.

Anne-Marie Duff was incredible as Georgie Burns. The role of Georgie is an extremely challengingpart, requiring many different tasks from the actress playing her, however Anne-Marie Duff pulls out all the stops and is able to transfer  Georgie's complex mind to the audience. She was mesmerising! I had seen Kenneth Cranham in The Father over a year ago, in which he was superb, so I was looking forward to seeing another performance of his. He certainly did not disappoint. He gave a brilliant performance is the role of Alex Priest and was perfectly cast in the role.

Marianne Elliot was an excellent director for this production. There are many different ways a director could choose to stage this play, however I believe that the way Marianne Elliot chose to do it was the best possible way. I was a big fan of the staging and it worked incredibly well throughout the whole play.

The set design did not originally have too much of an impact on me, however I then read a fascinating article in the programme which spoke about the set design and what it symbolised. The characters move around the stage in a box of light which constantly grows and shrinks. It symbolises the radiance of the universe expanding and contracting due to the erratic rhythms of life. I really liked the lighting design, which was a prominent feature of the show and added to its strengths.

The featured star of Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle is, drum roll please... ANNE-MARIE DUFF!

Both Kenneth Cranham and Anne-Marie Duff were phenomenal, but having to choose I have to say that Anne-Marie Duff was my favourite; she was transfixing. The role of Georgie must be an incredibly difficult task and its amazing that she pulls it off 8 times a week. To play someone with a mental illness must be very strenuous, but Anne-Marie Duff is truly extraordinary.

Now for my final verdict on Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle. I give Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle...

Heisenberg was a big eye-opener and I am glad that I got the chance to see it! It is a play I would highly recommend.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer