Galileo——An Amazing Play

Galileo had always been a hero in our mind. He was a great physicist and astronomer. However, after I watched the play GALILEO that was wrote by Bertolt Brecht, and acted by students in my school, I changed my view toward him. Moreover, this play also helped me get into the world that Galileo lived before.

The story happened during 1500-1600. Galileo was short of money. One day he knew about a telescope that had been found by others, and he replicated it, and published to the world as his own invention. Then he used the telescope to substantiate the former heliocentric model of the solar system. Nonetheless, the heliocentric model was against church’s well, because this model doubted the exist of god. Galileo had some students, but he finally gave up his informal teachings because of the torture and threaten from the church.

In this play, I think Galileo’s daughter Virginia is a very meaningful character. Virginia had no mother. She was a kind and beautiful girl. After Galileo published the telescope, Virginia fell in love with Ludovico. However, Ludovico left because Galileo insisted his informal teachings. Finally, Virginia became a nun, and took care of his father till he died. To be honest, I think Virginia’s life was pathetic. She did not have anything a normal young girl should have. She had no mother when she was a kid, no husband after she grew up, and no child till she was old. She did not blame anyone, and just accepted her own life silently. From her life, I can learn more about the society at that time. That was a patriarchy society; young girls could hardly decide who they were married with. Marriage was established above family and fame. Virginia’s marriage failed because of her father’s actions; apparently, that was unfair. At the end of the play, Virginia and Galileo still lived in their old house.  She cooked for her father, and took care of everything. I felt sad about her, because she was not only one girl in the play, but also the reflection of thousands of girls in the past.

Besides the story, the actors are amazing on the stage. Their fabulous performance and natural expression made the play more vivd and attractive. As a protagonist, Charlotte Lesser did a excellent job! I could tell how much time she had spent on this play. She acted Galileo, a man. Her way of walking, and talking almost gave audiences a real feeling of a seventeenth century male scientist. Moreover, other actors were also fantastic! They did not seem nervous at all of acting in front of teachers and classmate. They put themselves into the play, and that was exactly one of the most important step of a good play.

I like this play every much, and I would definitely recommend my friends to watch it. From those short two hours, I learned a lot. I knew about the history that has been covered by the text book, and the society in hundreds years ago. For the most important, the actors were the soul of the play. As an audience, I want to show my gratitude to the actors for such a wonderful play!