Shunya’s Mathematical Geniuses Play out a Witty, Engrossing, Sad Tale of Ego

By Manu Shah
HOUSTON: Theatre lovers are in for a treat. Last Saturday, August 3, three mathematical geniuses, a helpful Indian Goddess and a Professor of the Classics came together on stage and will do so again for the next two weekends, in Ira Hauptman’s play “Partition”. The play presents the fascinating and famous collaboration between Srinivas Ramanujan, India’s self-taught mathematical genius and his mentor G.H. Hardy, a renowned mathematician at Cambridge.

Produced by Sanjay Mediwala, “Partition” is presented by Shunya Theatre, the only South Asian stage company in the country. For the past 11 years, Shunya has made a concerted effort to give voice to a wide array of works ranging from Irish-American to New American to Indian plays. Past productions include “The Adventures of Hanuman”, The Prophet and the Poet”, “Everyone Loves a Good Tsunami” and “1-888 DIAL India”.

Apart from explaining a mathematical concept developed by Ramanujan about the rank of a partition of a positive integer, “Partition” also explores the partitions or divides that spring up between people when faced with their insecurities.
The two-hour play opens with a dejected Ramanujan being berated by an English policeman for attempting suicide. Ramanujan’s reason for taking this drastic step stems from the horror of consuming Ovaltine, a drink that contained traces of an animal product. We are thus introduced to the strict vegetarian Brahmin mathematical genius and “the first Indian to be inducted to the prestigious Fellow of the Royal Society in Cambridge.”

The play continues to describe his arrival at Cambridge to work with another great mathematician, G.H. Hardy who is left “speechless” at Ramanujan’s extensive mathematical work. It deals with a self-effacing Indian who has to grapple with an alien culture and climate, his frustration and inability to” prove” his theories and his intuitive insights into complex mathematical concepts which leads to the crux of the play – Hardy’s growing insecurity and the consequent partition that springs up between the two men as well as with Hardy’s colleague Alfred Billington who rebukes Hardy for treating Ramanujan so shabbily.

The play shows an insecure Hardy challenging Ramanujan to prove an unfinished theorem by Pierre de Fermat – a famous 16th century French mathematician who appears as a ghost in the play. In his quest, Ramanujan works himself to the bone, enlists the aid of his Goddess Namagiri who in turns requests Fermat himself to spill the beans but in vain. Fermat has forgotten the original proof! A disheartened and unwell Ramanujan returns to Madras and dies and Hardy is finally forced to face his insecurities, see himself for who he really is and acknowledge Ramanujan’s genius and contribution to mathematics.

Abounding in mathematical concepts without being obscure and boring, the play is liberally laced with the dry humor the stiff upper lipped British are famous for. Several instances such as Ramanujan’s impassioned plea to Goddess Namagiri to help him reach Cambridge, his earnest mathematical explanations to a Professor of Literature, the Goddess Namagiri’s snappy dialogues with the flighty and flirty Fermat, the first face to face meeting between the two mathematicians provides plenty of laughter. Billington’s kindheartedness towards the simple Indian is most touching.
Each one of the cast, whether the irascible Fermat with zat awesome French accent(Jeff Dorman), the self-absorbed Hardy(John Kaiser), the soft hearted Billington(Bradley Winkler), the winsome Namagiri(Anjana Menon) or a shy, God fearing Ramanujan(Taher Lokhandwala) are impressive in their roles and they are well directed by Sara Kumar. The veena and bansuri music composed by Sridharan Hariharan and Sameer Murali add to the charm of the play. The behind the scenes effort from every member of the crew – from the Stage Manager to Costume Designer – works well to give the play an overall appeal.

“Partition” will run from August 2nd to August 18th, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm at 14 Pews, 800 Aurora St, Houston, TX 77009. For more information and tickets, visit www.ShunyaTheatre.org