An Experiment with an Air Pump
Encyclopedia
An Experiment with an Air Pump is a play by British playwright Shelagh Stephenson
inspired by the painting An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
by Joseph Wright
. It shared the Peggy Ramsay Award for 1997, was first performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 1998, and has since been staged by a number of other companies worldwide. It was published in Plays One, a collection of Stephenson's plays published in 2002.
Both years are symbolic—they stand at the turns of new centuries and have to face the challenges the new times are about to bring. There will be a great development in medicine in the 19th and of genetics in the 21st centuries.
The play also implicitly deals with gender roles and questions the stereotypes of women scientists. While in 1799, it is the father (Fenwick) who is the enlightened soul and his male friends are also scientists (Armstrong, the physician, and Roget, the to-be-author of the thesaurus), his wife (Susannah) is a stereotypical wife of the time and their two daughters (Maria and Harriet) are expected to be such, too. The decision of one of them to become a scientist leads to disapproval. In 1999, the roles somehow change: Ellen, the wife, is the geneticist, and her husband, Tom, is historian. Ellen's friend, Kate, is also a young genetic researcher. There are also two "uneducated" characters: Isobel, the 1799 maid, and Phil, the 1999 handyman.
An additional theme of this play involves the ethics of using human life, in any form, for the advancement of science. Though the topic is not specifically discussed in 1799, the characters in 1999 do talk about the issue, though no concrete conclusions are drawn.
Besides the general questions about a scientist's responsibilities and limits, the play is in part a detective story. In the modern times, a skeleton is found in the basement. The skipping between the two time periods highlights, then resolves, questions about the identity of the corpse and the means of their death.
After Armstrong seduces Isobel, he confesses to Roget that he feigned love for Isobel because then she would agree to have intercourse with him. If she is naked, then he can examine her twisted spine more thoroughly. Isobel overhears and is moved to kill herself by hanging. Armstrong finds her hanging and speeds up the process. The characters in 1799 ring in the new year with the death of Isobel, whereas, the characters in 1999 begin the new millennium leaving their old home, and the certainties it possessed for them, behind.
building surveyor who is surveying Ellen and Tom's house which they are planning to sell. He offers human compassion and comic relief in the play.
Shelagh Stephenson
Shelagh Stephenson is a playwright, born in Northumberland and read drama at Manchester University. Her stage plays include The Memory of Water , An Experiment with an Air Pump, Ancient Lights, Five Kinds of Silence and Mappa Mundi...
inspired by the painting An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump is a 1768 oil-on-canvas painting by Joseph Wright of Derby, one of a number of candlelit scenes that Wright painted during the 1760s. The painting departed from convention of the time by depicting a scientific subject in the reverential manner formerly...
by Joseph Wright
Joseph Wright of Derby
Joseph Wright , styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution"....
. It shared the Peggy Ramsay Award for 1997, was first performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 1998, and has since been staged by a number of other companies worldwide. It was published in Plays One, a collection of Stephenson's plays published in 2002.
Plot summary
The plot takes place in the same house in two different time periods divided by the gap of two hundred years (1799 and 1999). The play questions the basic principles of scientific (medical) research, such as the right of the scientist to cross ethical limits: the right to perform dissection on the recently deceased (1799) and use of embryos in stem-cell research (1999).Both years are symbolic—they stand at the turns of new centuries and have to face the challenges the new times are about to bring. There will be a great development in medicine in the 19th and of genetics in the 21st centuries.
The play also implicitly deals with gender roles and questions the stereotypes of women scientists. While in 1799, it is the father (Fenwick) who is the enlightened soul and his male friends are also scientists (Armstrong, the physician, and Roget, the to-be-author of the thesaurus), his wife (Susannah) is a stereotypical wife of the time and their two daughters (Maria and Harriet) are expected to be such, too. The decision of one of them to become a scientist leads to disapproval. In 1999, the roles somehow change: Ellen, the wife, is the geneticist, and her husband, Tom, is historian. Ellen's friend, Kate, is also a young genetic researcher. There are also two "uneducated" characters: Isobel, the 1799 maid, and Phil, the 1999 handyman.
An additional theme of this play involves the ethics of using human life, in any form, for the advancement of science. Though the topic is not specifically discussed in 1799, the characters in 1999 do talk about the issue, though no concrete conclusions are drawn.
Besides the general questions about a scientist's responsibilities and limits, the play is in part a detective story. In the modern times, a skeleton is found in the basement. The skipping between the two time periods highlights, then resolves, questions about the identity of the corpse and the means of their death.
After Armstrong seduces Isobel, he confesses to Roget that he feigned love for Isobel because then she would agree to have intercourse with him. If she is naked, then he can examine her twisted spine more thoroughly. Isobel overhears and is moved to kill herself by hanging. Armstrong finds her hanging and speeds up the process. The characters in 1799 ring in the new year with the death of Isobel, whereas, the characters in 1999 begin the new millennium leaving their old home, and the certainties it possessed for them, behind.
Dr. Joseph Fenwick (1799)
Dr. Fenwick is a radical physician who believes that republicanism is the way forward. He has a fairly cynical view of the world and is a scientist because he "want[s] to change the world".Susannah Fenwick (1799)
Susannah is the wife of Joseph Fenwick. She is, in some respects, the 1799 equivalent of Tom, with a passion for reading, poetry and art. Susannah overcomes issues with her husband about love and respect throughout the play, though it is clear she drinks heavily and relies upon childish behaviour to gain the attention she so desperately requires.Harriet Fenwick (1799)
Harriet is the daughter of Joseph and Susannah Fenwick and the sister of Maria. She admires her Father but loses her temper easily.Maria Fenwick (1799)
Maria is also the daughter of Joseph and Susannah Fenwick and is the sister of Harriet. She always wants to be the centre of attention and is in constant competition with Harriet to see who can be the better daughter. She is engaged to a character who is never seen on stage called Edward.Peter Mark Roget (1799)
Roget is the only character in the play based on a real person- the creator of Roget's Thesaurus. In the play, he is a character in whom an inward moral battle rages about the ethics of science, though he maintains that he is a scientist because he wants to "understand the world".Thomas Armstrong (1799)
Armstrong is a cold, ruthless physician who is particularly interested with the structure of the human body. He is staying with the Fenwicks after Dr. Farleigh (a character never seen on stage) persuades Dr. Fenwick to "take him on for three months".Isobel Bridie (1799)
Isobel is the maid of the Fenwick household. She is originally from lowland Scotland and has a hump-back. Although timid, Isobel has a passion for words and it is evident that she is an intelligent, though self-conscious person.Ellen (1999)
Ellen is a geneticist who is being persuaded to take a job that is being offered to her from Kate's company.Tom (1999)
Tom is Ellen's husband and is an English lecturer but he has been made redundant. Therefore, he is depressed and has concerns about Ellen's job.Phil (1999)
Phil is a geordieGeordie
Geordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
building surveyor who is surveying Ellen and Tom's house which they are planning to sell. He offers human compassion and comic relief in the play.
Kate (1999)
Kate is Ellen's friend/fellow geneticist who offers her a job at her company. She is in direct conflict with Tom for most of the play as they both have opposing views on the conduct and morality of scientific exploration.Performances
- Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, UK (1998)
- Manhattan Theatre ClubManhattan Theatre ClubManhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
, New York, NY, US (1999) - Dallas Theater CenterDallas Theater CenterThe Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas . It produces classic, contemporary and new plays. The theater was based in the Kalita Humphreys Theater, a building designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, from 1959 to 2009...
Dallas, TX, US (2000) - Shipping Dock Theatre, Rochester, NY, US (2002)
- Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury CollegeMiddlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
, Middlebury, VT, US (2005) - Langston Hughes Theater, Seattle, WA, US (2006)
- University of South DakotaUniversity of South DakotaThe University of South Dakota ', the state’s oldest university, was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, USD is home to South Dakota's only medical school and law school. USD is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and its current...
, Vermillion, SD, US (2006) - University of AdelaideUniversity of AdelaideThe University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, Australia (2007) - Amarillo CollegeAmarillo CollegeAmarillo College is a two-year fully accredited community college in Amarillo, Texas with over 10,000 students that was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College...
, US (2007) - Alnwick Playhouse, Northumberland, UK (2007)
- Maddermarket TheatreMaddermarket TheatreThe Maddermarket Theatre is a British theatre located in St. John's Alley in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It was founded in 1921 by Nugent Monck.-Early history and conversion:...
, Norwich (2007) - Phillip Lynch Theatre, Lewis UniversityLewis UniversityLewis University is a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university located in Romeoville, Illinois, United States . The enrollment is currently around 6,800 students...
, Romeoville, IL, US (2008) - Sinclair Community CollegeSinclair Community CollegeSinclair Community College is an urban community college located in downtown Dayton, Ohio and is the largest community college at a single location in the state of Ohio....
, Dayton, OH (2008) - University of Nebraska, Lincoln (2008)
- Lansing Community CollegeLansing Community CollegeLansing Community College is a two-year public college founded in 1957. The college's main campus is located on an urban, 42-acre site in downtown Lansing, Michigan spanning seven city blocks approximately two blocks from the state capital...
(2008) - Clarkson UniversityClarkson University-The Clarkson School:The Clarkson School, a special division of Clarkson University, was founded in 1978 as a unique educational opportunity. The School offers students an early entrance opportunity into college, replacing the typical senior year of high school with a year of college...
(April 2009) - The Little Theatre, Hertford, UK (May 2009)
- Hampstead TheatreHampstead TheatreHampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
, London, UK (October 2009) - University of San DiegoUniversity of San DiegoThe University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...
, San Diego, CA (November 2009) - University of New OrleansUniversity of New OrleansThe University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
, New Orleans, LA (November 2010) - English Theatre Berlin, (February 2011)
- University of WaterlooUniversity of WaterlooThe University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
, Waterloo, ON (March 2011) - Giant Olive Theatre CompanyGiant Olive Theatre CompanyGiant Olive Theatre Company was founded in the summer of 2008 by George Sallis and Andrea Hooymans. The Company's inaugural piece was 'Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme', by Molière, which received critical acclaim...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK (2011)