Kate Mulgrew and Francesca Faridany star in "The Half-Life of Marie Curie"
Audible today announced the world premiere of The Half-Life of Marie Curie, an Audible-commissioned work from America’s most produced living playwright, Lauren Gunderson. The show will star Obie Award winner Kate Mulgrew (Orange is the New Black, Equus) and Francesca Faridany (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time).
The Half-Life of Marie Curie was commissioned for Audible’s Emerging Playwright program, a dedicated $5M fund that enables the creation of original plays driven by language and voice, keeping with Audible’s core commitment to elevating listening experiences through powerful performances and extraordinary storytelling. Twenty-five commissions have already been announced, with new playwrights identified on an annual basis.
Science made them remarkable. Friendship made them resilient. Obie Award winner Kate Mulgrew and Francesca Faridany star in The Half-Life of Marie Curie, a compelling new play about renowned scientist Marie Curie and radical engineer Hertha Ayrton—and the friendship that strengthened their resolve to pursue their ambitions.
With lyricism and wit, playwright Lauren Gunderson has crafted an honest, unexpected story that follows Marie Curie during the summer of 1912 when news of her secret affair threatens to overshadow her second Nobel Prize win. Heartbroken, Curie leaves France to stay with Ayrton at her home on the British seaside and they openly express their passions, struggles, and longing to be validated in a world that refuses to see them as equal.
Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch, The Half-Life of Marie Curie is a timely celebration of two brilliant women who have been overlooked by history for too long. Written expressly for Audible through its Emerging Playwrights Fund, the play will be available to Audible listeners globally in the coming months.
Previous productions to come out of Audible’s Emerging Playwrights Fund include the best-selling and critically acclaimed releases of Madhuri Shekar’s Evil Eye, Chisa Hutchinson’s Proof of Love, Carla Graul’s Life Ever After, Nick Carr’s Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic, and the forthcoming Leah Nanako Winkler’s Nevada Tan. Additional plays to come out of the Emerging Playwrights Fund will be both released and announced regularly.
Previews for the live show begin on Tuesday, November 12 ahead of a Tuesday, November 19 opening night at the Minetta Lane Theatre, Audible’s creative home for live performances in New York.
As with previous Audible productions at the Minetta Lane, Audible will record and release The Half-Life of Marie Curie as an audio play, extending its reach to millions of listeners around the world. Award-winning and critically acclaimed Audible performances of captivating stage productions starring Kate del Castillo, Billy Crudup, Judith Light, Aasif Mandvi, John Lithgow, Carey Mulligan, and others are available for preorder and download at www.audible.com/theater.
