New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Two shows in, and already the New Vic's repertory season is reaping the benefits of a permanent ensemble. Actors with relatively little to do in the Rivals now appear in David Auburn's intellectual teaser about madness and mathematics.
Auburn's 1998 drama was inspired by a passage from the memoir of the mathematician GH Hardy, who observed that "in a good proof there is a high degree of unexpectedness, combined with inevitability and economy". Hardy was writing about hard sums, though he might have made an astute drama critic.
Catherine's college career has been interrupted by the necessity of caring for her late father, a burned-out professor of calculus whose genius became a torment. An eager grad student is now scouring the professor's notebooks for any lingering flashes of insight. Among the gibberish is what seems to be one final, perfect proof. Only it doesn't appear to be the professor who has written it.
If there's a flaw in Auburn's reasoning, it's that it simply becomes impossible to believe that the calculation can fulfil claims to be the theoretical link that will bind all branches of mathematics together. But Gwenda Hughes's quiet, meditative production draws performances of impressive depth from Michael Hugo as Hal the endearing geek, and Emma Noakes as the troubled Catherine, clearly haunted by the possibility that pursuing her father's methods may lead towards his madness.
Above all, it's a chance to appreciate some fine acting in a complex, cerebral play that might be difficult to programme in isolation. There's life in the old repertory system yet, and here's Proof.