PETER GREENAWAY / SASKIA BODDEKE | ||
THE CHILDREN OF URANIUM | ||
| 2005 is the World Year of Physics, the European Year of Scientists, the 100th anniversary of Einstein's first declaration of the principle of relativity, the 50iest anniversary of Einstein's death, and 60 years after the Hiroshima bomb. Enough to inspire Peter Greenaway and Saskia Boddeke to create a multimedia spectacle which deals with the discovery, development, the fears and tyranny of nuclear power - the nuclear deterrent associated with uranium. The halls of Villa Croce become an installation based on the 92 elements of the periodic table, a scenography with original music by Andrea Liberovici and visuals by Peter Greenaway for a series of performances dedicated to the children of uranium: Isaac Newton, which could be defined the founder of modern science; Joseph Smith, founder of the religious group of the Mormons, who was looking for gold and instead found the most precious American treasure, the uranium; Madame Curie, victim of the powers of radiation. | Then there is Einstein, the prophetic genius of the relativity; Oppenheimer, constructor of the atomic bomb with remorse, punished by his conscience and the compassion of an anti-communistic system and a xenophobic public opinion; Krushev, soviet leader, famous for corroding Stalin's myth and for his hostility towards Kennedy; Gorbachov, the last communist leader who improved relations between east and west, defused the bomb and prepared the way for the break down of the Berlin wall; the actual president of the United States George W. Bush. After the performances in November, the installations with the traces left by the famous protagonists remain open to the public, underlining thus the consequences of their actions. | PRODUCTION DATES |
