The Life of Galileo

by Bertolt Brecht

Translated by Howard Brenton

The action of the play covers 28 years in the life of Galileo Galilei, from 1609 to 1637

Scene One	Galileo’s study in Padua
Scene Two	The Great Arsenal of Venice by the Harbour
Scene Three	Galileo’s Study in Padua
Scene Four	Galileo’s House in Florence
Scene Five	Galileo’s House in Florence inside and out
Scene Six	Hall of the Collegium in Rome
Scene Seven	Cardinal Bellarmin’s house in Rome
Scene Eight	The Palace of the Forentine Ambassador in Rome
INTERVAL
Scene Nine		Galileo’s House in Forence
Scene Ten		A Market Place
Scene Eleven		Lobby of the Medici Palace in Florence
Scene Twelve		A Room in the Vatican
Scene Thirteen		The Palace of the Forentine Ambassador in Rome
Scene Fourteen		A Large Room in a Country House near Florence
Scene Fifteen		A Small Italian Border Town

Costumes	Wynfydd Thomas
Set Design & Construction	Alan Etherington, Chris Williams
Props	Laura Musselbrook, Elaine Ferguson
Lighting	Tom Newman
Sound	Noah Broad
Stage Management	Ali Boucher
Front of House	Neil Durham, Kelvin Meek
Direction	Chris Williams

Costumes hired from the South London Theatre and the Richmond Shakespeare Society, Props hired from the Royal National Theatre

Cast in Order of Appearance

Chess Player One	Ben Elliott		A Very Thin Monk	Matthew Walker
Chess Player Two	Christian Eede		The Very Old Cardinal	Jordan Derrick
Galileo Galilei	Stephen Bailey		Father Christian Clavius	Phil Rickner
Andrea Sarti	Gabriel Nicklin		The Little Monk	Dominic Powell
Mrs. Sarti	Zoë Apostolides		The Cardinal Inquisitor	Eliot Henderson
Ludovico Marsili	Nick Walker		Cardinal Barberini, later Pope Urban VIII	Mina Arsanious
The Bursar of Padua University	Matthew Walker		Cardinal Bellamin	Stevn Goovaerts
The Doge	Pavlos Christodoulou		Filippo Mucius, a scholar	Freddy Thomas
Senator One	Jordan Derrick		Signor Gaffone, Rector of the University of Pisa	Will Thornton
Senator Two	Freddy Thomas		The Ballad-Singer	Will Evans
Senator Three	Callum Blackford		The Ballad-Singer’s Wife	Frances Yarlett
Sagredo, Galileo’s friend	Peter Sugden		Child	James Collyer
Virginia, Galileo’s daughter	Nicole Evans		Chorus One	Pavlos Christodoulou
Federzoni, a lens grinder	Wesley Nash		Chorus Two	Jamie Muir
Cosimo de Medici	Andrew Narouz		Chorus Three	Daniel McKeown
The Court Chamberlain	Phil Rickner		Chorus Four	Jack Evans
The Theologian	Freddy Thomas		Vanni, an ironfounder	Josh Heath
The Philosopher	Will Thornton		Scary man	Omar Rana
The Mathematician	Josh Heath		An Official	Joseph Wilson
Lackey	Joseph Wilson		A High Official	Sean Barry
Soldier One	Will Evans		An individual	Will Thornton
Soldier Two	Jamie Muir		A Monk	Devis Kawuki
Runing Man	Devis Kawuki		A Peasant	Andrew Narouz
The Old Woman	Frances Yarlett		A Frontier Guard	Alex Finch
Bread Man	Callum Blackford		A Clerk	Sean Barry
A fat Prelate	Pavolos Christodoulou		First Boy	Omar Rana
A Scholar	Daniel McKeown		Second Boy	James Collyer
A Monk	Sean Barry		Third Boy	Will Evans
Second Monk	Omar Rana
First Astronomer	Alex Finch
Second Astronomer	Joseph Wilson

Bertolt Brecht was born in Augsburg on 10 February 1898 and died in Berlin on 14^th August 1956.  He grew to maturity as a playwright in the frenetic years of the twenties and early thirties, with such plays as The Threepenny Opera, The Mother and Saint Joan of the Stockyards.  He left Germany when Hitler came to power in 1933, eventually reaching the United States in 1939, where he remained until 1947.  It was during this period of exile that such masterpieces as The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and The Caucasian Chalk Circle were written.  Shortly after he returned to Europe in 1947 he founded the Berliner Ensemble, and from then until his death was mainly occupied in producing his own plays.