| The three actors in this play portray Isaac Newton at three different stages of his life, as well as occasionally representing other people. Interestingly, the three Newton's interact with each other, which may be a reference to the three-body problem as well as reminding me of The Ah of Life. Even more interestingly, Baxter did not so much write the play as patch it together, since it is claimed that all of the dialogue was taken directly from texts written by Newton and his contemporaries.
I have not seen the show (which opened at the Menagerie Theatre in the UK and then toured North America in 2011), nor have I read the script. I have only read a few reviews. From these, it seems reasonable to conclude that there is only a bit of math in the play, which of course also focuses on physics, religion and alchemy. Yet, there does seem to be enough to justify including an entry for this show in this database. In particular, in addition to brief discussion of the derivation of elliptic orbits for planets from the famous equation F=ma, the question of whether the credit for the creation of calculus should go to Leibniz or Newton is addressed, though it apparently quickly turns into a theological debate. If you were lucky enough to see the show or read the script, please write to me with your comments so that I can post them here.
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