A review by ashmagoffin
Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson

2.25

I am a woman in STEM and I greatly appreciate the women who have paved the way for me so I was able to study medical radiation science and work as a nuclear medicine scientist with little obstruction. So I was immediately intrigued by this play as I do enjoy works that celebrate women in science. A historical adaptation should not be a documentary but there were multiple aspects which I did not vibe with. Henrietta Leavitt is portrayed as deaf and wears a historic hearing aid for the time as she was in real life. However, her colleague Annie Cannon who is also a character in this play is portrayed as hearing when she was also deaf. I just do not understand why you would make that choice as a playwright? How bizarre. 

There was also a sense of contention between science and religion whereas Leavitt was a devote Christian her entire life, I do understand that by not placing Earth in the centre of the universe and finding out how vast the universe actually is had a huge impact of society at the time but it seems odd to portray Leavitt this way when it seemed to be a huge part of her identity. 

There was a romantic subplot added with a fictional character named Peter Shaw. His presence seemed to reflect the male opinion of women at the time but why did he have to become romantically interested in the protagonist? An odd move indeed to add such focus to something to a story about a woman who seemed to want to be just LEFT ALONE to focus on astronomy and to be taken seriously as a scientist. 

 Besides from opening with all the issues I had with the script, the dialogue is engaging, the dynamics and interactions between the individuals leap off the page so this would translate well to the stage. The script gives great scope to the potential for staging and creative set and lighting design. 

 I am all for championing women in science and I love to see historical feminist plays. As a real person in history I feel like Henrietta Leavitt deserves an accurate representation in a work that is described as a true story.