How much time do Oppenheimer and his Hungarian clan have before everything, including Einstein and the White House, goes up in smoke?
The story of the dawn of the atomic age, told with humour, irony and a touch of poetic exaggeration.
In 1938, Leó Szilárd and other Hungarian Jewish scientists are fleeing Nazi Europe. Aware that Hitler may be close to constructing the ultimate weapon capable of destroying the entire world, they join forces in exile and try to win the race against time. In a New York laboratory, a team is formed under the leadership of the brilliant physicist Robert Oppenheimer, who is acutely aware of all causes and consequences. The new bomb could bring a long war to an end, but at the same time kill hundreds of thousands of people. How do you handle such immense responsibility? Who were the people who built the most destructive weapon in history so far, and how did they make their decisions?
A disturbingly topical play about one of the most controversial chapters of modern history, it captures not only the birth of the Manhattan Project, but also the inner dilemmas of those who took part in it. Under the pressure of war, professional ambition and moral doubt, the scientists become actors in an irreversible decision, as their work ceases to be pure science and becomes an instrument of destruction.
After the worldwide success of The Lehman Trilogy, Italian playwright Stefano Massini returns with another gripping work that combines an epic storytelling style with witty, fast-paced dialogue, irony and suspense.
Divadlo pod Palmovkou presents the play as a chilling reminder, 80 years after the moment when a single explosion shook the entire world.
Directed by Michal Lang
Premiere: 19 September 2025 on the Main Stage
Running time: 3 hours 10 minutes, including an interval
Please note that cigarettes are smoked on stage during this performance.
