Review: HEISENBERG at Scala Teatern

The play Heisenberg by Simon Stephens opened at the Manhattan Theater Club on June 3, 2015 and in 2016 moved to Samuel J Friedman's Theater It was played in London in 2017. It opened the 26th of January at Scala Theatre in Stockholm and will play he until March 24th. I haven't seen the play in English so I can't compare it with its original. Translations is made by Lucia Cajchanova.

The play has been named after the physicist Heisenberg's theory that it is impossible to measure a particle's position and momentum at the same time as absolute precision. Stephens has staged this through Georgie and Alex. Georgie is a wild, impulsive, energetic 42 year old woman who likes to spice up her life with lies. Alex is a 75 year old slaughterer who lost his sister and parents when he was young and quite inexperienced when it comes to women. He is shy, withdrawn and not very talkative. They are truly each other's opposites. They meet one day when Alex is sitting on a bench at St Pancras station in London. Georgie has a plan to charm him into paying for her trip to New Jersey in order to look for her son whom she has lost contact with. Her energy and impulsiveness are absolutely overwhelming. She talks wtithout stopping to breath. After their first encounter she goes to his butcher shop in order to convince him to take her out on a date. He cannot resist this whirlwind of attention she gives him and they meet for dinner and their love story starts. Eventually they travel to New Jersey together to look for her son.

Helena of Sandeberg plays Georgie and she is absolutely brilliant in her role. She is intensive, intrusive but still has a charm that is hard to resist. Peter Haber plays the gifted Alex and he hardly gets a jelly in the weather. He's initially so sad, gray and dull so you really wonder what Georgie sees in him. But eventually he warms up and shows tenderness and thoughtfulness which touches Georgie. Peter Haber is one of the most well known actors in Sweden and for example he has played the detective Martin Beck for several years. Helena af Sandeberg has also played in several films and often acts in plays as well.

The scenography by Lars Östbergh is simple but effective. On each side of the scene you can see Georgie and Alex in their respective apartments and then they meet in the middle of the scene on a bench, Alex butchery, restaurant, etc. Annsofi Nyberg's clothes are simple and good. The custome changes takes place directly on stage but stylishly and nicely done.

The play is 1 hour and 40 minutes, and personally I think it will would gain on shorten it by 10 minutes or so to make it more intense. But it is still enjoyable and fun. Anyone watching must be fascinated by Helena of Sandeberg's energy on stage. Immediately you can see that she and Peter Haber enjoy playing this play and there is a lovely warmth between them. It is always a great pleasure to see two great actors on stage.