About the Play:

The Half-Life of Marie Curie is a full-length drama by Lauren Gunderson. Science made them remarkable. Friendship made them resilient. In the early years of the 20th century, double Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie and radical engineer Hertha Ayrton share a years-long, supportive friendship that strengthened their resolve to pursue their ambitions. The Half-Life of Marie Curie is by turns thought-provoking, moving, charming and surprisingly relevant to today's news.

The Half-Life of Marie Curie revels in the power of female friendship between two fearless scientists at the heights and depths of their careers and lives. In 1911, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium. By 1912, she was the object of ruthless gossip over an alleged affair with the married Frenchman Paul Langevin, all but erasing her achievements from public memory. Weakened and demoralized by the press lambasting her as a "foreign" Jewish temptress and a homewrecking traitor, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at her summer home in England. The Half-Life of Marie Curie revels in the power of female friendship that spanned 30 years, as it explores the relationship between these two brilliant women, both of whom are mothers, widows, and champions of scientific inquiry.

The Half-Life of Marie Curie premiered in 2019 at the Minetta Lane Theatre off-Broadway in New York City. Since then the play had premieres at professional theatres around the US and has been mounted by community theatres.

Cast: 2 female

What people say:

"It's rare to classify a show as both fun and educational, but Lauren Gunderson's The Half-Life of Marie Curie is just that—a 90-minute slice of history brimming with wit and wisdom, powered by two turn-of-the-20th-century female STEM stars." — NewYorkStageReview.com

"A frisky, feminist crowd-pleaser, The Half-Life of Marie Curie radiates empowerment—which is fitting, since it centers on the woman who coined the term radioactivity. …enlightening and entertaining." — Time Out NY

"Written with insight, passion, and humor… [a] masterful script… With its engaging biographical narrative and timely historical message, The Half-Life of Marie Curie will surely cement Gunderson's reputation as the number one produced playwright in the US." — DCMetroTheaterArts.com

About the Playwright:

Lauren M. Gunderson is an American playwright, screenwriter, and short story author originally from Atlanta, Georgia. She received her BA in English/Creative Writing at Emory University, and her MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch, where she was also a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.