Critique the Play: The Legacy of Light by Karen Zacarias - Essay Example

These are plays whose characters are enduring in the minds of the audience as the people in the audience’s individual lives. In addition, these plays have settings which are deeply rooted than were numerous of the audiences’ childhood surroundings. Finally, these lasting plays contain themes which stand for significant object messages behind the audiences’ decision making (Cohen 439). This paper will be a critique of the play, The Legacy of Light, by Karen Zacarias. The paper will also use information from chapter 16 of the book, Theatre, by Robert Cohen.

The Legacy of Light focuses on the existence of two female scientists of distinct periods. One of them is Emilie du Chatelet, a real 18th century mathematician and physicist from France Voltaire. She is also Voltaire’s longtime intellectual partner and mistress. Emilie du Chatelet is also a talented enlightenment female, not afraid to dispute the moral and intellectual standards of her period (Cohen 442). In the play, Emilie du Chatelet is impregnated by a young noble man, at 42 years old. She hurries to finish her life’s work, a translation of Principia by Sir Isaac Newton prior to her child’s delivery.

This is because she almost perished during her prior pregnancies. The remaining part of The Legacy of Light focuses on the fictional Olivia. . This compels them to attempt vitro fertilization and sign up a 21 year old female as the surrogate mother. In critiquing this play, we are required to ask numerous questions about it. The questions have to do with emotional excitement, intellect stimulation, the surprise element, thrill, if it is complete, the credibility of the actors, whether the actors are convincing, electrifying, enchanting, if the play is alive or dead, if it is original, if it is logically sound, if the action is gratuitous or purposeful, if the play transports the audience or if the audience is plainly waiting for it to end, and if the play matches the view of what a play should be or does it require a change in its standards (Cohen 442).

The Legacy of Light elicits intellect stimulation in the members of the audience. This is because from its viewing it may be argued that these two characters have too much to bear. The first act plays with changeable gender responsibilities. Both the modern husband and young male lover in the past are depicted as rather feminine, while the females are presented as masculine on the basis of consuming drive and assertiveness. This requires the members of the audience to distinguish or be aware of both the female and male roles so as to comprehend that part of the play.

The play also has a surprise element. This is evident when the males are depicted as rather feminine while the females are presented as masculine on the basis of consuming drive and assertiveness. Also, the surprise element is evident in the second act, when there is an intersection of time lines and conventional responsibilities become extra difficult to assume (Cohen 443). This may make members of the audience not to have a character to