Transit of Venus is a play by Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

 Maureen Hunter

Maureen Hunter

Maureen Hunter is a Canadian playwright who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.She was born in Indian Head, Saskatchewan and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan. Transit of Venus was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company and recorded by the BBC...

. It was first produced at the Manitoba Theatre Centre

Manitoba Theatre Centre

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country...

 in November 1992

1992 in Canada

Events from the year 1992 in Canada.-Incumbents:*Monarch: Elizabeth II*Governor General: Ray Hnatyshyn*Prime Minister: Brian Mulroney*Premier of Alberta: Don Getty then Ralph Klein*Premier of British Columbia: Mike Harcourt...

.

The play is based on the life of Guillaume Le Gentil

Guillaume Le Gentil

Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean-Baptiste Le Gentil de la Galaisière was a French astronomer.-Biography:...

 (1725–1792), a gentleman astronomer

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

.
In the play, he is obsessed with observing the transit of Venus

Transit of Venus

A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun...

. He leaves Celeste, the girl who loves him, to embark on an expedition to observe it. He returns after six years, having failed to observe the transit. He immediately makes preparations for a new expedition to observe the next transit.

Some artistic license has been taken: the real-life Guillaume Le Gentil did not return until after the second transit, remaining overseas during the eight year interim.

The play was subsequently performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company

Royal Shakespeare Company

The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...

 and recorded for the BBC.

Opera version

The play was transformed into an opera of the same name

Transit of Venus (opera)

Transit of Venus is an opera in three acts by Victor Davies. The English libretto is by Canadian playwright Maureen Hunter based on her play of the same name first produced at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in November 1992.-Roles:-Synopsis:...

 with libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Maureen Hunter and music by Victor Davies. This was presented by Manitoba Opera

Manitoba Opera

Manitoba Opera is an opera company in Winnipeg, Manitoba that was founded in 1969. Its first production was a concert of Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore in 1972. Manitoba Opera is one of several western Canadian opera companies that flourished under the inspired leadership of Irving Guttman,...

on November 24, 2007.