Proof at Arts Theatre Cronulla
The first production for 2016 at Arts Theatre Cronulla is David Auburn’s winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prizefor Drama and Tony Award for Best Play, Proof, directed by Gavin Leahy, with a set designed by ATC stalwart Jimmy Bruce.
Proof explores the unknowability of love as much as the mysteries of high-level mathematics, in a thought-provoking night at the theatre.
In writing his play, Auburn has found a witty, engrossing way to explore the notion of proof, using a myriad of definitions of the word. While at a basic level it refers to a mathematical proof found in a notebook, whose authorship is in dispute, it digs deeper to explore the daily proof that people seek to reassure themselves of the stability of their reality and of their own personal relationships.
The play is set in the yard of the family’s home in Chicago, where Robert, a mathematical genius who suffered from mental illness, has just died. Flashback scenes show Robert talking with his daughter Catherine, a depressed college drop-out who has stayed at home to care for him, forgoing her own education. Catherine's imperious sister Claire arrives from New York for the funeral, reigniting sisterly antagonisms, and one of Robert’s former PhD students Hal Dobbs brings another layer conflict to the story, along with a sweet and touching love interest.
The play opens on 7 February and runs till 19 March. Performances are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with 3 Sunday afternoon matinees. Full details and online bookings can be made via the theatre’s website: http://www.artstheatrecronulla.com.au/
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