Daragh Carville's new play, set in Armagh Observatory, is thoughtful, theatrical and ingenious. The ingenuity is vested in the possibility that a quantum fissure in time allows two people, living and working in 1999, to visit the observatory in 1799, when the Rev James Archibald Hamilton was the chief astronomer and James Hogg his assistant. The two people from the 20th century - Nicola, who is working on quantum physics, and Jon, who is a local historian - manage to make or change history by their timely interventions in the past.
The theatricality is vested in a good sharp narrative thrust. The thoughtfulness comes only in passing references about how the exploration of God's universe, revealing the glory of God, is God's work (or was in the 18th-century concept of things) and would merit a deeper study (which the brevity of the play - a mere 75 minutes - could well afford) to provide a richer exploration of the religious and scientific verities across the 200 years of the story.
Dramatically, there are some deficits which lessen the overall impact of the piece. The characters are given neither the time nor the words to flesh out their lives or feelings. They remain merely ciphers to drive the narrative along. We need, for instance, to be told more of the political relationship between the Anglican Hamilton and the Presbyterian Hogg (a United Irishman). We want to know why Nicola can be dismissive of Jon by telling him that they've never been friends, that they've just been having sex. None of them gets the chance to become a rounded human being, so we don't have much reason to care about what happens to them. They remain somewhat like the caricatures and ciphers that propel an episode of Star Trek on television.
The actors do their professional best to put some flesh on their words and actions. Des Cave is Hamilton, Ronan Leahy Hogg, Mary O'Driscoll Nicola and Charlie Bonner Jon. Jason Byrne's direction might have given each of them a little more time to establish their motives and their feelings, but basically they need more than the spare clinical words the author has given them in the first place. Paul McAuley has provided a good simple set while Tony Wakefield's lighting is more than adequate and Dave Nolan's sound is good.
