Applying the Heisenberg Principle to a Romantic Pairing
A chance meeting in a London train station brings together a most unlikely couple – Alex Priest, a 75 year-old butcher, and Georgie Burns, a 42 year-old woman who talks non-stop yet most of what she says isn’t true. When she first comes on to Alex, she claims she mistook him for her husband who died. (Not true.) She jokingly tells him she’s an assassin, then a waitress. (Also not true.) She snaps away with a disposal camera, making fun of his efforts to avoid being photographed. No surprise that Alex gets away from her as quickly as he can.
Heisenberg, written by Simon Stephens, is a gem of a play. The title refers to the German physicist Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainly principle in quantum mechanics which stated that the more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be known. As applied to a relationship, how well can two people actually know each other? There are always surprises, shocks, and deceptions.
When Georgie shows up at Alex’s butcher shop, he’s startled, not sure what to think. Is she truly interested in him? Their difference in ages makes Alex suspicious. Yet he can’t turn her out. Truth is, Alex is alone and lonely and even if Georgie has ulterior motives, for the moment he doesn’t care. Soon they embark on an actual affair, although whether it’s a love affair is the question. At 75, Alex realizes he doesn’t have much time left, so he’s prepared to take the risk. He enjoys the sex, but also enjoys her youthful energy and quirkiness. After a lifetime of predictability, not knowing what comes next is thrilling.
As their relationship evolves during the 90-minute play, the age gap seems to evaporate and we see two people coming together, literally clinging to each other at times, because of their needs. Georgie, too, is alone and she’s looking for someone to help her find her son who, she believes, left London for New Jersey. Alex doesn’t need much convincing, even when he’s asked to fund the trip.
Michael Russotto and Rachel Zampelli as Alex and Georgie make quite a pair. In a two-person play each actor must deliver a strong performance and both Rusotto and Zampelli are at the top of their game. From their physical moves to their facial expressions, they reveal all. And staging the play in Signature’s intimate ARK Theatre brings the audience so close to the action it’s difficult to look away and easy to get pulled into the story.
The lyrics to a classic Sinatra song kept running through my mind: Love isn’t just for the young, for true love doesn’t ask how old you are. Whether Georgie’s love for Alex is true doesn’t matter to him. Anyone – young or old – might be encouraged to take that leap into romance.
Photos: Cameron Whitman
Heisenberg
Written by Simon Stephens
Directed by Joe Calarco
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Avenue
Arlington, Virginia
Through November 11, 2018
