Farm Hall

by Katherine Moar

Summer 1945. Hitler is dead, but the war in the Pacific rages on. When six of Germany's top nuclear scientists – including three Nobel Prize winners – are detained by Allied forces at a stately home in the Cambridge countryside, they find themselves shut off from the outside world. Their only distractions are board games, a broken piano and a copy of Blithe Spirit. But as the months go by, their attention turns to the ongoing war and thoughts of their broken homeland. The scientists' tranquil summer is shattered by the inconceivable news that the Americans have succeeded where the Germans have the United States has not only built an atomic bomb, but they have used one against Japan. Katherine Moar's captivating debut play Farm Hall dramatises the true story recorded inside the bugged walls of the actual Farm Hall between July 1945 and January 1946. It was premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in March 2023, before transferring to the Theatre Royal Bath, directed by Stephen Unwin.

Genres: Theatre, Physics

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 16, 2023

Reviews

[Patrick Laverty · Rating 5 out of 5]

no offence Sammie Anne but i wanted to be the first one to rate this so you’ve made a not very powerful enemy today my friend

[Mihajlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing take on the race to build a nuclear bomb based on The Farm Hall Transcripts and by true events that occurred at Farm Hall between July 1945 and January 1946, especially after seeing the West End's production last August.

I must compliment the author's ability to move the play forward only through dialogue; I did not feel the lack of stage direction or descriptions which I usually prefer in a play.

I would love to see this on the mandatory reading lists at the undergraduate level.

[Sammie Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farm Hall manages to be both hilarious and emotional all in the same moment. It’s a really strong debut and I’m excited to see what Katherine does next!