The Half-Life of Marie Curie is not just a history lesson or a feminist revival. It’s a breath of salt air. Written by America’s most produced living playwright, Lauren Gundersen, it makes its Australian debut in a finely crafted, quietly fierce production by Ensemble Theatre.
Upon entering the theatre, I felt like I’d stumbled into an intimate séance: a conjuring of friendship, grief, rage, and survival, set against the waves of a scientific revolution. From the moment the lights dimmed, it was clear this production was going to be something special.
The Half-Life of Marie Curie premiered in 2019 at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York. It imagines a real moment in history. Curie’s affair with a married man, Paul, is revealed to the public. Journalist vultures descend on her house and devastate the lives of both her and her girls. Her friend and fellow physicist, Hertha Ayrton, comes to her aid and whisks them all away to the English coast. It is here, far from the flashing cameras and furious public, that healing begins.
Gunderson’s script is sharp, intelligent, and laced with biting wit, if a touch repetitive. It is less about what happens and more about how these women speak, fight, remember, and recover. The audience is invited into a world where scientific precision meets spiritual curiosity, and where sisterhood becomes a force of resistance.
Director Liesel Badorrek handles the material with care and vision, bringing the ideas of transformation and discovery to the forefront, crafting a dynamic emotional arc. Her direction highlights both sharp, momentous humour as well as gentle rhythmic silences.
Gabrielle Scawthorn as Marie Curie gives a performance of great stillness and strength – her pain restrained but never hidden. Rebecca Massey, in contrast, crackles with energy as Hertha Ayrton: confident, outspoken, hilariously irreverent.
Together, they form a magnetic duo – each a mirror and a foil to the other. Their chemistry is undeniable, making the quieter moments, like sitting on the beach watching the waves or sharing a drink to their deceased husbands, feel as charged as their arguments.
The design and technical elements are exquisite. James Browne’s set and costumes evoke both time and timelessness. A seaside retreat layered in soft greys, creams, and ghostly textures, matched with Edwardian silhouettes that feel lived-in. The circular curtain around the stage acts as a veil that the actors pull back and forth to conceal or reveal their true selves.
Verity Hampson’s lighting design is a triumph, transitioning from the warm sunlight of coastal days to the eerie glow of the substance Curie possesses. Composer and sound designer Daniel Herten adds further dimension, blending the natural world with subtle echoes of actors’ dialogue, hinting at something more spectral. Cameron Smith’s video design, too, deserves praise. It is used sparingly but powerfully, suggesting the invisible forces at play: radiation, grief, transformation.
Transformation is at the heart of this play. As Gunderson writes, “Half-life. The moment an element transforms so fully that it is more other than self.” It’s a metaphor not only for scientific decay, but also for reinvention. For becoming something new when the old self is no longer tenable.
The Half-Life of Marie Curie is a 90-minute slice of history brimming with wit and wisdom. It’s a play about transformation – elemental and emotional – and it glows with the energy of two women who refused to dim themselves for the world. It’s enlightening and entertaining, but more than that, it’s urgent. In a world where women’s legacies are still too often footnotes, this production insists on full paragraphs. Go for the science, stay for the sisterhood.
The Half-Life of Marie Curie is on now at and runs to 12 July at Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street Kirribilli NSW 2061.
Tickets: https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/the-half-life-of-marie-curie/
Website: https://www.ensemble.com.au/
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Photo credits: Prudence Upton
