THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION

The world is noisy. Between television, radio and the internet, a soul hardly has a moment to linger. So imagine a time when radio silence, television static and a frozen computers were unfathomable. This is the world of The Farnsworth Invention, a play about the origins of radio and television. Written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network), the play follows the fate of Philo Farnsworth (Damian Sommerlad), a farm boy with startlingly bright ideas, and David Sarnoff (Patrick Connolly), an Eastern European Jew who fled to America as a youngster. Both are driven, flawed and compelling, and in competition to claim the inventor of television. There is intrigue, idealism and betrayal in this pursuit (and TV, in this gorgeous 1920s setting, predicted as a mere parlour trick for the rich). As good as the story is, what triumphs in this staging are the details. Director Louise Fischer (also Artistic Director for New Theatre) has a steady hand in maneuvering the large cast. Sommerlad, Connolly and supporting cast members shine. Cynicism aside, these television pioneers believed in the humanitarian value of the medium, and it’s a notion not entirely lost after these decades of consequent noise. This is superlative theatre, transporting, instructive and moving.

Until Aug 13, New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown, $22-28, 1 300 306 776, newtheatre.org.au

BY OLGA AZAR