A Disappearing Number
Encyclopedia
A Disappearing Number is a 2007 play co-written and devised by the Théâtre de Complicité company and directed and conceived by English playwright Simon McBurney
. It was inspired by the collaboration during the 1910s between two of the most remarkable pure mathematicians of the twentieth century, Srinivasa Ramanujan
, a poor Brahmin
from South India, and the Cambridge University don
G.H. Hardy.
It was a co-production between the UK-based theatre company Complicite
and Theatre Royal, Plymouth
, and Ruhrfestspiele
, Wiener Festwochen, and the Holland Festival
. A Disappearing Number premiered in Plymouth in March 2007, toured internationally, and played at The Barbican Centre in Autumn 2007 and 2008, and at Lincoln Center in July 2010. It was directed by Simon McBurney
with music by Nitin Sawhney
. The production is 110 minutes with no intermission.
The piece was co-devised and written by the cast and the company. The cast in order of appearance: Firdous Bamji
, Saskia Reeves, David Annen, Paul Bhattacharjee, Shane Shambu, Divya Kasturi and Chetna Pandya.
where the notation
indicates a Ramanujan summation
.
Hardy realised that this confusing presentation was an application of the Riemann zeta function
with 
. Ramanujan's work became the foundation of string theory
.
The play includes live tabla
playing, which "morphs seductively into pure mathematics", as the Financial Times
review put it, "especially when … its rhythms shade into chants of number sequences reminiscent of the libretto to Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach
. One can hear the beauty of the sequences without grasping the rules that govern them."
The play has two strands of narrative and presents strong visual and physical theatre. It interweaves the passionate intellectual relationship between Hardy and the more intuitive Ramanujan, with the present-day story of Ruth, an English maths lecturer, and her husband, a globe-trotting Indian-American businessman "to illuminate the beauty and the patterns — the mystery — of mathematics." It also explores the nature and spirituality of infinity, and explores several aspects of the Indian diaspora
.
Ruth travels to India in Ramanujan's footsteps and eventually dies. Al follows, to get closer to her ghost. Meanwhile, 100 years previously, Ramanujan is travelling in the opposite direction, making the trip to England, where he works with Hardy on maths and contracts tuberculosis. Partition
(as a maths concept) is explored, and diverging and converging series in mathematics become a metaphor for the Indian diaspora
.
Simon McBurney
Simon Montagu McBurney, OBE is an English actor, writer and director. He is the founder and artistic director of Théâtre de Complicité in England, now called Complicite.-Early life:...
. It was inspired by the collaboration during the 1910s between two of the most remarkable pure mathematicians of the twentieth century, Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srīnivāsa Aiyangār Rāmānujan FRS, better known as Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan was a Indian mathematician and autodidact who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions...
, a poor Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
from South India, and the Cambridge University don
Don
- People :* Don , a short form of the masculine given name Donald in English, also a masculine given name in Irish* Don , a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian title, given as a mark of respect* Don, a crime boss...
G.H. Hardy.
It was a co-production between the UK-based theatre company Complicite
Complicite
The British theatre company Complicite was founded in 1983 by Simon McBurney, Annabel Arden, and Marcello Magni. Its original name was Théâtre de Complicité. "The Company's inimitable style of visual and devised theatre [has] an emphasis on strong, corporeal, poetic and surrealist image supporting...
and Theatre Royal, Plymouth
Theatre Royal, Plymouth
The Theatre Royal in Plymouth, Devon, England is "the largest and best attended regional producing theatre in the UK and the leading promoter of theatre in the south west", according to Arts Council England...
, and Ruhrfestspiele
Ruhrfestspiele
Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is one of the oldest Theatre festivals in Europe. Founded after World war II, the festival is an event for the Ruhr district....
, Wiener Festwochen, and the Holland Festival
Holland Festival
The Holland Festival is The Netherlands' oldest and largest performing arts festival, and takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theater, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and architecture were added to the festival roster...
. A Disappearing Number premiered in Plymouth in March 2007, toured internationally, and played at The Barbican Centre in Autumn 2007 and 2008, and at Lincoln Center in July 2010. It was directed by Simon McBurney
Simon McBurney
Simon Montagu McBurney, OBE is an English actor, writer and director. He is the founder and artistic director of Théâtre de Complicité in England, now called Complicite.-Early life:...
with music by Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
. The production is 110 minutes with no intermission.
The piece was co-devised and written by the cast and the company. The cast in order of appearance: Firdous Bamji
Firdous Bamji
Firdous Bamji is an Indian-American actor.-Personal life:Bamji was born in Mumbai, India and attended Kodaikanal International School, a small American boarding school in the mountains of South India. He also grew up in Bahrain and South Carolina. Bamji now lives in New York City and...
, Saskia Reeves, David Annen, Paul Bhattacharjee, Shane Shambu, Divya Kasturi and Chetna Pandya.
Plot
Ramanujan first attracted Hardy's attention by writing him a letter in which he proved thatwhere the notation
indicates a Ramanujan summationRamanujan summation
Ramanujan summation is a technique invented by the mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan for assigning a sum to infinite divergent series. Although the Ramanujan summation of a divergent series is not a sum in the traditional sense, it has properties which make it mathematically useful in the study of...
.
Hardy realised that this confusing presentation was an application of the Riemann zeta function
with . Ramanujan's work became the foundation of string theoryString theory
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...
.
The play includes live tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
playing, which "morphs seductively into pure mathematics", as the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
review put it, "especially when … its rhythms shade into chants of number sequences reminiscent of the libretto to Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach is an opera that premiered on July 25, 1976 at the Avignon Festival in France, scored and written by Philip Glass and designed and directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson. It also contains writings by Christopher Knowles, Samuel M. Johnson and Lucinda Childs...
. One can hear the beauty of the sequences without grasping the rules that govern them."
The play has two strands of narrative and presents strong visual and physical theatre. It interweaves the passionate intellectual relationship between Hardy and the more intuitive Ramanujan, with the present-day story of Ruth, an English maths lecturer, and her husband, a globe-trotting Indian-American businessman "to illuminate the beauty and the patterns — the mystery — of mathematics." It also explores the nature and spirituality of infinity, and explores several aspects of the Indian diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
.
Ruth travels to India in Ramanujan's footsteps and eventually dies. Al follows, to get closer to her ghost. Meanwhile, 100 years previously, Ramanujan is travelling in the opposite direction, making the trip to England, where he works with Hardy on maths and contracts tuberculosis. Partition
Partition (number theory)
In number theory and combinatorics, a partition of a positive integer n, also called an integer partition, is a way of writing n as a sum of positive integers. Two sums that differ only in the order of their summands are considered to be the same partition; if order matters then the sum becomes a...
(as a maths concept) is explored, and diverging and converging series in mathematics become a metaphor for the Indian diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
.
Awards and nominations
- 2007 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play
- 2007 Evening Standard Award for Best Play
- 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play