The Recantation of Galileo Galilei (Eric Bentley)

Smack dab in the middle of Eric Bentley’s Rallying Cries is The Recantation of Galileo Galilei which explores the life of the scientist, how he came to irritate the church, and why he recanted (or as the play pedantically points out, abjures) the bulk of his late life’s work which he knew to be true.

It’s as tense as a play that’s all talking can get, and reminds me immensely of one of the great historical plays: A Man For All Seasons, which features the same themes of refusal to play politics, petulant authority, social climbers, and sticking (or not) to what one believes is true.

As a Producer
This play is right in the valley of “plays I love” and “Not what Pronoia does.” While it is arguably satirical, it isn’t comedic, and more than that it has as self-seriousness that I think we naturally eschew in our own work. I’d love to see or be in a production of it, but it isn’t right for the company.

As a Writer
Back in January I appreciated how Michael Frayn included a long essay after the script explaining the divergence from historical events his play took. Bentley one-ups him by having sparse footnotes throughout the script at critical junctures to vigorously show where (and why) he changed facts. Usually his reasoning was “we don’t want the audience asking [question irrelevant to plot or themes]” which I can get behind.