An algebraic love affair at the Science Museum

Marcus du Sautoy and Victoria Gould recently starred in a short run production of “X&Y” at the Science Museum, a story of two algebraic variables apparently falling in love. Together they explore and tackle some of the biggest questions out there. What is infinity? Is there an edge to the universe? Are mathematics and theatre the same? All played out on a small, sparse stage somewhere in the back room at the Science Museum. Sounds interesting right?

The ‘play’ takes place pretty much entirely within a cube outlined with neon lights - this is X’s home and whole world, and he is content with it.

Y then enters and shatters this illusion, setting the premise for a discussion about the possibility of an infinite amount of cubes, life after death and the meaning of nothing.

The play picked up multiple themes and ideas only to immediately drop them, leading to a very disjointed and often confusing piece of work. It felt more like a series of lectures rather than a cohesive piece of storytelling. The scatterings of humour throughout however did have the audience laughing and kept it light-hearted and fun.

Marcus du Sautoy’s acting nevertheless was powerful and very convincing, troubled and confused by the sudden realization that all he knows may not be true. It truly was a great performance from him. Victoria Gould showed some opening night nerves, occasionally forgetting her lines, but also did well. The problem here was not the acting but rather the construction of the dialogue.

If your maths knowledge is limited then perhaps this could serve as an stimulating night out to test your mind – but it came across a bit patronising to an audience of mostly adults. The concepts were interesting but they needed to be woven together better, and overall it was disappointing.

It would work perfectly for a teacher to take their class to on school trip and have their minds blown by some cool maths tricks, getting them interested and talking about maths and science in the process. Unfortunately however it fell flat as a work of art trying to combine theatre and mathematics. Maybe too much was expected from this small production.

X&Y will be performed at the Manchester Science Festival 30th October - 3rd November.