The Element in the RoomOpening Date: Aug 2015
Closing Date: Aug 2015 Air date: Aug 15, 2015 Medium: online Where to watch: Scenesaver and YouTube |
Stage Production Notes
An exuberant retelling of Marie Curie’s real-life journey across the USA to collect a single gram of radium and a celebration of the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, whose work continues to affect our lives today.
Tangram Theatre Company was founded in London in 2006 by a group of graduating students from the École Jacuqes Lecoq, Daniel Goldman, Johan Westergren, John Hinton, Omar Elerian, and Sibusiso Khambule. Tangram’s mission is to “create theatre that is surprising, irreverent and life affirming and work in a way that is open, collaborative, physical and fun.” Since its formation, the company has performed 15 productions to over 70,000 audience members across Europe and the UK.
Between 2009 and 2015, Tangram created 3 musicals based on key figures in science history, The Origin of the Species about Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein: Relatively Speaking, and The Element in the Room about Marie Curie, which became known as the “Scientrilogy.”
Written and performed by John Hinton and Jo Eagle under the direction of Daniel Goldman, The Element in the Room was the third musical of the Scientrilogy. It was developed with advice from scientific advisors at the University of Sussex, including Dr Darren Baskill, Dr Hazel Cox, Dr John Turner, and Professor Mark Hindmarsh.
The Element in the Room premiered at the Brighton Fringe Festival in 2015.
The musical received a short run in London before playing at the Pleasance Two as part of the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it received glowing reviews.
Writing for Fringe Guru, Richard Stamp stated the musical was “highly entertaining yet… disturbingly dark…” Andrew Allen, writing for Fringe Review, praised John Hinton’s clever and enthusiastic performance, noting that Hinton’s mime was “quite sharply and cleverly defined.” Philip Fisher in the British Theatre Guide noted that John Hinton and Jo Eagle (also married in real-life) “carry the project off with gentle wit utilising a mixture of data, songs, jokes and force of personality.”
Several reviewers praised the show for its ability to be both educational and entertaining. In her review for Broadway Baby, Louise Jones enthused “It's like if Horrible Histories produced a lecture series and I can't stop singing its praises”.
Stamp also noted the gender-bending casting of John Hinton as Curie, and Jo Eagle as her husband Pierre, and stated that “it's tempting to ask whether there's any real value in this particular act of gender-blind casting,” but noted that Hinton’s reputation for science-themed shows made it worthwhile.
The Element in the Room was performed in rep with the previous two science-themed pieces, and The Scientrilogy was awarded the ThreeWeeks Editors’ Award.
Following its successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Element in the Room toured throughout the UK.
In 2016, The Element in the Room was performed at the Adelaide Fringe Festival where it was awarded the Weekly Critics' Circle Award. Writing for The Barefoot Review, Samela Harris exclaimed “Tour de force doesn't begin to describe it. Five stars and then some.”
The musical was performed a second time at the Adelaide Fringe in 2018.
An exuberant retelling of Marie Curie’s real-life journey across the USA to collect a single gram of radium and a celebration of the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, whose work continues to affect our lives today.
Tangram Theatre Company was founded in London in 2006 by a group of graduating students from the École Jacuqes Lecoq, Daniel Goldman, Johan Westergren, John Hinton, Omar Elerian, and Sibusiso Khambule. Tangram’s mission is to “create theatre that is surprising, irreverent and life affirming and work in a way that is open, collaborative, physical and fun.” Since its formation, the company has performed 15 productions to over 70,000 audience members across Europe and the UK.
Between 2009 and 2015, Tangram created 3 musicals based on key figures in science history, The Origin of the Species about Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein: Relatively Speaking, and The Element in the Room about Marie Curie, which became known as the “Scientrilogy.”
Written and performed by John Hinton and Jo Eagle under the direction of Daniel Goldman, The Element in the Room was the third musical of the Scientrilogy. It was developed with advice from scientific advisors at the University of Sussex, including Dr Darren Baskill, Dr Hazel Cox, Dr John Turner, and Professor Mark Hindmarsh.
The Element in the Room premiered at the Brighton Fringe Festival in 2015.
The musical received a short run in London before playing at the Pleasance Two as part of the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it received glowing reviews.
Writing for Fringe Guru, Richard Stamp stated the musical was “highly entertaining yet… disturbingly dark…” Andrew Allen, writing for Fringe Review, praised John Hinton’s clever and enthusiastic performance, noting that Hinton’s mime was “quite sharply and cleverly defined.” Philip Fisher in the British Theatre Guide noted that John Hinton and Jo Eagle (also married in real-life) “carry the project off with gentle wit utilising a mixture of data, songs, jokes and force of personality.”
Several reviewers praised the show for its ability to be both educational and entertaining. In her review for Broadway Baby, Louise Jones enthused “It's like if Horrible Histories produced a lecture series and I can't stop singing its praises”.
Stamp also noted the gender-bending casting of John Hinton as Curie, and Jo Eagle as her husband Pierre, and stated that “it's tempting to ask whether there's any real value in this particular act of gender-blind casting,” but noted that Hinton’s reputation for science-themed shows made it worthwhile.
The Element in the Room was performed in rep with the previous two science-themed pieces, and The Scientrilogy was awarded the ThreeWeeks Editors’ Award.
Following its successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Element in the Room toured throughout the UK.
In 2016, The Element in the Room was performed at the Adelaide Fringe Festival where it was awarded the Weekly Critics' Circle Award. Writing for The Barefoot Review, Samela Harris exclaimed “Tour de force doesn't begin to describe it. Five stars and then some.”
The musical was performed a second time at the Adelaide Fringe in 2018.
Filmed Production Notes
The Element in the Room was filmed live on August 14, 2015, during its run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The musical is currently available to view for free on Scenesaver and YouTube.
The Element in the Room was filmed live on August 14, 2015, during its run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The musical is currently available to view for free on Scenesaver and YouTube.
The Element in the Room PRODUCTION CREDITS
Theatre: Pleasance Two, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Producer: Tangram Theatre Company
Book, Music, and Lyrics: John Hinton and Jo Eagle
Director: Daniel Goldman
Musical Consultant: Alex Silverman
Costume Design: Kelli Des Jarlais
Lighting Design: Pablo Fernandez Bas
Cast:
John Hinton
Jo Eagle
Theatre: Pleasance Two, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Producer: Tangram Theatre Company
Book, Music, and Lyrics: John Hinton and Jo Eagle
Director: Daniel Goldman
Musical Consultant: Alex Silverman
Costume Design: Kelli Des Jarlais
Lighting Design: Pablo Fernandez Bas
Cast:
John Hinton
Jo Eagle
Sources
Articles
Websites
- Andrew Allen, “The Element In The Room: A Radioactive Musical Comedy About The Life And Death Of Marie Curie,” Fringe Review (Aug 11, 2015)
- John Chapman, “Albert Einstein: Relatively Speaking/The Element In the Room (Online review),” 2nd From Bottom (June 10, 2020)
- Alex Eades, “Theatre review: The Element In The Room – A Radioactive Musical Comedy about the Death and Life of Marie Curie,” The List (Oct 16, 2015)
- Philip Fisher, “The Element in the Room: A Radioactive Musical Comedy about the Death and Life of Marie Curie,” British Theatre Guide (Aug, 2015)
- Louise Jones, “The Element in the Room: A Radioactive Musical Comedy about the Death and Life of Marie Curie,” Broadway Baby (Aug 14, 2015)
- Samela Harris, “The Element in the Room,” The Barefoot Review (Feb, 2014)
- John Hinton, “Why threes are (scientifically) magic,” Three Weeks (Aug 5, 2015)
- Valerie Lillington, “John Hinton's Scientrilogy: The Element in the Room | Tangram Theatre,” Australian Stage (March 16, 2018)
- Richard Stamp, “The Element in the Room,” Fringe Guru (Aug 27, 2015)
- Ray Taylor, “The Element in The Room – The Civic, Barnsley,” The Reviews Hub (April 1, 2016)
- Natasha Tripney, “The Element in the Room,” The Stage (Aug 24, 2015)
- Jo Vabolis, “Review: The Element in the Room,” In Daily (Feb 15, 2016)
Websites
- Kickstarter, “The Element in the Room… by Tangram Theatre Company,” Accessed via: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1886171157/the-element-in-the-room-by-tangram-theatre-company
- Scenesaver, “The Element in the Room,” Accessed via: https://www.scenesaver.co.uk/production/the-element-in-the-room/
- YouTube, “The Element in the Room,” Accessed via: YouTube
Written by Luisa Lyons (April, 2020)