Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, May 2004 then on tour

THE TITLE is a bit of a pun. A proof is what a mathematician devises to explain how X equals Y. And proof is what we demand of each other when we make claims for our achievements. So when Catherine, the semi-schooled daughter of a mathematical genius, says she’s responsible for a breakthrough proof in one of her father’s notebooks, her sister and would-be boyfriend won’t accept it without proof that she did it and not him.

Director Michael Emans

Rather than a question of clear-headed numerical reasoning, it becomes an emotive matter of trust. They can subject the equation to a logical process of calculation, seeking out flaws in the most rational of ways. However complex the logic, it is either right or wrong and provably so. Her claim, on the other hand, rests on her honesty and the faith other’s have in her, matters that can’t be decided in the margins of a maths book. When they are sceptical, therefore, she takes it as a personal insult.

The greater impression of Proof is one of talking heads, an untheatrical succession of conversations that don’t even let us into the secrets of the maths that are supposedly at the play’s heart. Sadly, Michael Emans’s production only exacerbates matters, leaving the actors to sit round and plough through the dialogue in a manner that is functional at best. A play written in such a dull naturalistic fashion should at least be leavened by some subtextual detail, but this is an altogether one-dimensional reading.

Proof can be seen at the following Highlands and Islands venues:
Macphail Theatre, Ullapool, Monday 17 May 2004
Corran Halls, Oban, Monday 24 May 2004-05-18
Little Theatre, Dervaig, Isle of Mull, Tuesday 25-Wednesday 26 May 2004
Birnam Institute, Dunkeld, Saturday 29 May 2004

© Mark Fisher, 2004