Preview: Partition

As we all start getting back into the habit of all-nighters, Week 2 Corpus Main Show Partition looks set to be a gripping play that touches on both mental health and overwork. It covers a variety of themes– science and religion, friendship, academia, and cultural differences.

What is Partition all about?

Brought to you by co-directors Louise Dai and Rishi Sharma, Partition is the story of the tragic friendship between G.H. Hardy and Ramanujan, both famous mathematicians.

Entire cast: Fermat, Billington, Hardy, Ramanujan, and Namagiri (left to right). (Image credits: Mara Postolache)

Indian self-taught mathematical genius Ramanujan arrives in Cambridge to flourish under the mentorship of another brilliant mind, Hardy. Ramanujan and Hardy sometimes clash, and from what I gleaned from my visit to their rehearsals, actors Cian Morey and Vinith Bhandari look set to depict this genuine friendship and its constraints brilliantly.

Ramanujan is guided throughout by sassy goddess Namagiri (Renuka Chintapalli) and friend Billington (Isaac Allen) until cracking Fermat’s notoriously difficult theorem proves too much.

Why should you go to see Partition next week?

Despite the historical backdrop of World War I, Partition is ultimately a character-driven piece, with Ramanujan and Hardy bound to their fates because of their characters. For some, this is tragic. For others, there is comfort in the sense of inevitability.

Providing comic relief –evident even in rehearsals– also watch out for Fermat’s (Charli Foreman) hilarious interludes as an evil mathematician from beyond the grave!

As a humanities student, the maths which is mentioned here is also (mostly) comprehensible, which adds an extra fun layer to the play without ever making it too difficult for an average audience member to follow.

What message will you take away from the play?

One member of the cast found the distinction between religion and science most interesting, while another reflected on the changed diversity in Cambridge today and how things have come a long way. Others focused again on the arguably tragic friendship between Hardy and Ramanujan.

These varied and complex themes look set to combine fantastically– leaving you with a deeper appreciation of Cambridge history, heartfelt opinions on numerous important issues, a sense of catharsis, and also laughter aplenty!

Creating alliances… Fermat (Charli Foreman) and Namagiri of Namakkal (Renuka Chintapalli). (Image credits: Mara Postolache)

Favourite lines to look out for?

“How do you think I will go on alone when I am surrounded by numbers?”

All-in-all, this Week 2 Corpus Main Show will be a fantastic piece to stop by at on any spare evening of yours this week– I hope to see you all there!

Partition is running at the Corpus Playroom from Tuesday 1st to Saturday 5th February, and tickets are available here.

Feature image credits: Winnie Zhu