Directed by Arcola Theatre Artistic Associate Katharine Farmer, a new female-led production of Simon Stephens’ Heisenberg is offering fresh insights into the universal themes of identity, loneliness and the fluctuation of love.
Through subtle humour and quiet poetry, Heisenberg unravels the complexities of human relationships, capturing with poignant intimacy the delicate and often comical dance of connection. The radical reimagining of Stephens’ play, with Alex now cast as a woman, stars Olivier Award-winning Jenny Galloway as Alex and internationally acclaimed Faline England as Georgie.
We caught up with Farmer to find out more about the production.
Q&A with Katharine Farmer
What can you tell us about your new production of Heisenberg?
This production of Heisenberg reimagines the play with a queer female relationship at its centre. We’ve taken Simon Stephens’ brilliant script and explored how its themes of uncertainty and connection resonate differently when viewed through the lens of a relationship between two women of different generations.
What was it that inspired the reimagining?
I first directed Heisenberg back in 2019 at Rubicon Theatre Company and Laguna Playhouse in California, and I fell completely in love with the script. When revisiting it post-pandemic, I was struck by how differently the play spoke to me. I realised that reimagining it with a queer female relationship allows us to explore the play’s themes without heteronormative expectations. The age gap between Alex and Georgie takes on new dimensions when viewed through queer experience, particularly in how society perceives and often dismisses relationships between women of different generations. I was also interested in how queer people often find each other across boundaries that might otherwise separate them, which resonates with the play’s exploration of chance encounters and unlikely connections, and living in the moment.
What has it been like to return to the play with that new perspective?
Now, in our post-pandemic world, the play’s exploration of social isolation and uncertainty feels much more palpable. Now the play reads to me as a play about finding authenticity. Whether it’s the collective fragility we carry after the pandemic, Heisenberg in 2025 speaks to how we allow ourselves to be transformed by another person despite all our defenses, and how we can take ownership and make choices even when they’re difficult.
Is there anything you hope audiences take away from the play?
I hope audiences leave with an appreciation for how meaningful relationships require a leap into uncertainty. The play ultimately suggests that it’s only by embracing uncertainty that we can discover authentic connection, which I think speaks powerfully to both queer experiences and universal human connections. There’s something beautiful about witnessing the courage it takes to be truly seen by another person. In our current climate, where so many of us are questioning established structures and seeking new ways of relating to each other, I hope the play offers both comfort and challenge, reminding us that vulnerability, though terrifying, is also how we find our way to each other.
