Island Theatre presents "The Half-Life of Marie Curie"

Presented by Island Theatre at Kitsap Regional Library, Bainbridge Island, Bainbridge Island

April 19, 2025

In 1912, shortly after Curie won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of radium and polonium, French paparazzi uncovered her secret love affair with a married physicist. The ensuing scandal all but erased her achievements from public memory and threatened her career. Demoralized and lambasted as a “foreign” Jewish temptress, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at her summer home in England. “The Half-Life of Marie...

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In 1912, shortly after Curie won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of radium and polonium, French paparazzi uncovered her secret love affair with a married physicist. The ensuing scandal all but erased her achievements from public memory and threatened her career. Demoralized and lambasted as a “foreign” Jewish temptress, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at her summer home in England. “The Half-Life of Marie Curie” explores the powerful friendship of these two brilliant women, both of whom are mothers, widows, and fearless champions of scientific inquiry.

“The Half-Life of Marie Curie” is directed by Tracy Dickerson and features Nora Harrison as Marie Curie and Ruth Bookwalter as Hertha Ayrton.

Performances take place at the Bainbridge Public Library on Saturday, April 19 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, April 20 at 3:00 pm. No reservations are necessary. The play is recommended for high school age and up.  Donations are deeply appreciated as they enable us to stage these productions.

“A frisky, feminist crowd-pleaser” — Time Out New York

“It’s rare to classify a show as both fun and educational, but Lauren Gunderson’s THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE is just that—a 90-minute slice of history brimming with wit and wisdom, powered by two turn-of-the-20th-century female STEM stars.” — New York Stage Review.

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Dates & times

Sat, Apr 19 @ 7:00 pm

Admission

Admission is free. Donations are appreciated as they enable us to put on these productions. Thank you!

Ticket Website