Collapsing Creation, directed by David O’Donnell, Downstage Theatre, reviewed by Lynn Freeman

“SCIENTIFIC discovery is a sport” – that’s from the man who knew what was at stake when he published his radical work, The Origin of the Species.
Arthur Meek brings the bewhiskered Darwin to life in his play, showing us his funny, loving, obsessive and eccentric sides and his competitive nature.
This is an assured piece of work from Meek who’s proving himself to be an actor and writer of remarkable talent. It’s also beautifully performed, astutely directed and deliciously set. The play needs trimming in the first half, getting bogged down in long detailed conversations. You get the impression the writer couldn’t bear to leave out the treasures he discovered during the course of his research. That aside, it’s a delight.
The play looks at the eight years before the publication of Darwin’s magnum opus, when he gets sidetracked into studying insects and almost loses the race to publish a comprehensive argument for evolution.
Peter Hambleton and Catherine Downes bring their years of experience at characterisation to their roles of Peter and Emma Darwin. Christopher Brougham hits just the right note as Darwin’s loyal servant/friend Joseph Gardiner, as does Eddie Campbell playing his argumentative colleague John Roberts.