This gift doesn't please

BAILA LAZARUS

Knowing little to nothing of Nobel Laureate Dr. Fritz Haber is of great advantage when going to see Einstein's Gift because it means you won't be wasting an evening. For someone, such as myself, interested in historical turning points, learning about a person who had such a profound influence on science in the first half of the 20th century is fascinating. Unfortunately, the way the story itself is told and this particular production of the play do not combine to make the show a worthy draw. So if you do know a fair amount about Haber and his relationship with Albert Einstein, perhaps this isn't the evening out for you.

The title Einstein's Gift comes from a quote attributed to Einstein in which he compares the time he could spend with Haber, "the most spirited, the most complex, most generous" of Einstein's friends, to a gift. The play is a fictional account of the real-life friendship between the two men, derived from personal correspondences, including what writer Vern Thiessen describes as a series of postcards that went back and forth between the two protagonists with nothing more than mathematical and chemical formulae and a signature. In writing the play, Thiessen chose to focus on two main conflicts between the two lead characters, played wonderfully by Ron Halder as Haber and David Adams as Einstein.

The first theme arises in the early moments of the play when Haber, in 1905, chooses to abandon his Jewish background by becoming baptized. In the Germany of the early 1900s, a baptismal certificate holds as much weight as a university degree for those seeking higher postings. Einstein, who chose to leave Germany in order to progress in his field, continuously expresses his disgust that Haber renounced his religion in favor of his strong sense of nationalism.

The second, more scientifically relevant, theme of the play focuses on Haber's belief that all scientific thought and discovery should have practical applications; a philosophy that stands in sharp contrast to Einstein's view that scientific theory can exist for its own sake, much like a piece of artwork or a musical concerto. Haber thinks Einstein is brilliant, but that his work is useless; Einstein sees Haber's work as brilliant but believes Haber to be stupid.

The trouble is, rather than focus on a short period in the lives of the two men, Thiessen decides to show the relationship in a series of more than a dozen vignettes, each preceded by an introduction by one of the characters, usually Einstein, with the date and an announcement of what was going on at the time. Dates and events are rattled off throughout the play like an announcement on a newsreel: "1910, Haber begins joining science and industry and becomes director of the Government Institute in Berlin," after which we see the little sketch that shows Haber becoming director of the Government Institute in Berlin. "1920, Haber accepts the Nobel Prize for his process of nitrogen fixation," and there we see Haber making his acceptance speech. "1930, Haber starts work on using Zyclon as a pesticide," and on and on it goes throughout the play, making the progression incredibly uneven, like a car that keeps stalling in wet weather.

This type of writing reminds me of a book report I did in high school on Helen Keller, where it seemed more important to relate the chronological details of her life than the essence of her contribution to the world. It was 14 pages long and, despite the monumental amount of information, I only got a C. That's about what I'd give to Thiessen's play Einstein's Gift.

Thiessen himself admits his first draft was a monumental 150 pages, with 30 characters and three acts. Speaking in a talk-back session after the play, he said it took seven years and more than 15 drafts to get it down to the final version, which won him a Governor General's Award for drama.

Directed by Donna Spencer, Einstein's Gift is a co-production with the Gateway Theatre in Richmond. It runs at the Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova St., until Jan. 29, and then moves to the Gateway, Feb. 4-19. Tickets are $11 to $22. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. with pay what you can matinées on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. Call the box office at 604-689-0926.

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