UBC Theatre & Film is all about building connections that can ripple out meaningfully upon graduation. For Theatre Studies alumna Tanya Mathivanan and Theatre Design & Production Alumna Sarah Melo that meant building a company: Aenigma Theatre. Copenhagen by Michael Frayn, directed by Mathivanan with set design by Melo is their offering this summer. It also includes UBC Theatre Design & Production alumni Alix Miller (Costumes Design) and Scott Zechner (Lights and Sound Design).
In 1941, during the height of WWII, German Physicist Werner Heisenberg paid a visit to his fellow scientist, the Danish Niels Bohr. They had once been mentor and student, partners, and peers, revolutionizing atomic physics together in the early 1920s. However, choices were made, friendships were broken, and the two brilliant men ended up on opposites sides of a horrific world war. Shrouded in mystery, even decades later, no one truly knows what happened during that secret meeting. This June, witness a thrilling, tense and epic confrontation as Bohr, his wife Margrethe, and Heisenberg reunite in the afterlife to unravel the reasons behind that infamous visit. Watch as they re-examine their place in history, furiously question the ethics of science, and ultimately, interrogate the responsibility of scientists in our society.
“The most invigorating and ingenious play of ideas in many a year. An electrifying work of art.”
—New York Times
The cast consists of Aenigma alum Francis Boyle (Facing East, Blackbird) as Niels Bohr, Tara Pratt (Prodigals, Unidentified Human Remains) as Margrethe Bohr, and Eric Regimbald (Blackbird, Wait Until Dark) as Werner Heisenberg.
Aenigma theatre was founded by Tanya Mathivanan in 2013 with the belief that, in many ways, people are all enigmas, to each other as well as to themselves. Tanya’s diagnosis of Fibromyalgia at the age of 15 amplified her interest in exploring the complexities of the human condition. Together with Co-Artistic Director, Sarah Melo, and a team of talented designers, Aenigma Theatre seeks to engage the community emotionally and intellectually by applying its unique aesthetic to challenging, relevant plays.
Studio 16 | 1551 W 7th Ave, Vancouver | June 27th to July 1st| Tickets $20| Purchase tickets online at
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2951678 or at the Door | Note: Cash only at Door|
Aenigma Theatre presents: COPENHAGEN by Michael Frayn at Studio 16 | June 27th- June 30th at 8pm and July 1st at 2pm (5 shows total)| Tickets $20 |
Purchase tickets online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2951678 or at the Door | Note: Cash only at Door.
http://www.aenigmatheatre.com/
Tanya Mathivanan
Tanya Mathivanan
Founder/ Managing Director/ Co-Artistic Director
Tanya is a Vancouver-based Director, Stage Manager and founder of Aenigma Theatre, who moved to this beautiful city from Singapore nine years ago. She graduated from UBC with a Double Honours BA in Theatre and English. Past directing credits include Dying City, RED, Blackbird, The Zoo Story, No Exit (Aenigma Theatre), Approaching Lavendar (Bright Young Theatre), The Pillowman (UBC Players Club) and The Sorrows of Young Werther (Assistant director-UBC Theatre). Other favourite credits include A Charlie Brown Christmas (Carousel Theatre for Young People), Comfort Cottages, The Dining Room (Western Gold Theatre), The Trial of Judith K,, Brave New Play Rites 2011 and Macbeth (UBC Theatre). She is amazed and grateful to have this many talented people on her team, without whom none of this would be possible.
Sarah Melo
Sarah Melo
Co- Artistic Director/ Production Design
Sarah Melo is set designer, scenic artist, and graphics designer currently working in Seattle Washington since completing a scenic painting internship at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. After graduating with her BFA in Theatre Design & Production from UBC, she worked as the scenic charge artist for Bard on the Beach and Western Canada Theatre, Set coordinator/props master for Project Limelight, technical coordinator/designer/props master for the Gateway Theatre’s Academy for Preforming Arts, and of course has worked since the beginning with Aenigma Theatre in many ways shapes and forms. Her favorite design credits with Aenigma are far and away for Red and No Exit; as well as Comedy of Errors(Gateway Academy), The Illusionist (Trinity Western University), and Ubu Roi (Theatre@UBC). Sarah is so excited to keep growing with Aenigma and Tanya, who she cannot thank enough for being both an amazing friend and collaborator. For more about Sarah, please visit
http://www.sarahasmelo.com.
