Proof

David Auburn’s Proof addresses the perennial problem of overestimating our knowledge, particularly our knowledge of others’ limits.

Catherine (Ylaria Rogers) has been sitting in her backyard awaiting the departure of Hal, former protegé of her late father, Robert (Gerard Carroll).  Hal has been upstairs in Robert’s study, searching Robert’s notebooks for buried intellectual treasure; Robert earlier twice revolutionised entire fields of mathematics.  A final notebook, containing a mathematical proof that overshadows Robert’s previous accomplishments, challenges the assumptions of Hal (Alexander Brown) and Catherine’s sister, Claire (Julia Christensen), concerning the fragile mental health of a professional mathematician and the abilities of a mathematical nobody, somebody with next to no formal training.

This mildly intellectual play, which won a Pulitzer Prize the year after its creation in 2000, demands respect for the logical processes that the mathematically literate must follow, as well as for the intuitive leaps they must share, in discussing cutting-edge mathematics.  In that regard, FREEFALL’s production plays directly to the script’s strengths, its mathematicians reasoning as mathematicians might.

Excepting unconvincing accents and occasional hasty lines, the performances by all four actors were impeccable.  With its restrained acting on its unusual theme; a realistic set; very well-handled audio; and inspired use of lighting to mark the passage of time, FREEFALL’s production of Proof is well worth catching.

John P. Harvey

Image: [L–R] Gerard Carroll and Ylaria Rogers, in Proof.