Mr. Darwin's Tree, the one-man play about Charles Darwin written and directed by Murray Watts and starring Andrew Harrison.
NEWS
MR. DARWIN'S TREE TO TOUR NORTH AMERICAN CAMPUSES THIS FALL 2019
The acclaimed British one-man play, Mr. Darwin's Tree, will tour campuses in Fall 2019. Produced by Scholarship & Christianity In Oxford (SCIO), the UK Centre of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), and underwritten by the Templeton Religion Trust and The Blankemeyer Foundation, playwright Murray Watts and actor Andrew Harrison will appear in both performance and workshop to help students explore the life and work of Charles Darwin and his impact on science and religion.
ABOUT MR. DARWIN'S TREE
Mr. Darwin's Tree, the one-man play about Charles Darwin written and directed by Murray Watts and starring Andrew Harrison, will tour the United States in the Spring and Fall of 2016.
Written by noted playwright and director Murray Watts, and starring leading British film, TV and theatre actor Andrew Harrison, Mr. Darwin's Tree has been described as “a brilliant, fast-paced and beautifully detailed performance” ("Church Times"). “BroadwayBaby” reported that “Mr. Darwin’s Tree explores not only science, but religion, the divine intricacies of the soul, and what it is to be human…. A rare treat.”
Hailed at the Edinburgh Festival as “an elegantly conceived, clever and highly informative performance, overflowing with gentle humor and charm” ("Three Weeks"), the play explores the life and work of Charles Darwin within the contexts of science, faith and family.
Written and Directed by
MURRAY WATTS
Starring
ANDREW HARRISON
Naturalist Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England, on 12 February, 1809. In 1831, he embarked on a five-year survey voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle. His studies of specimens around the globe led him to formulate his theory of evolution and his views on the process of natural selection. In 1859, he published On the Origin of Species. Following a lifetime of devout research, Darwin died at his family home, Down House, in London, on 19 April, 1882, and was buried at Westminster Abbey. During the next century, DNA studies revealed evidence of his theory of evolution, although controversy surrounding its conflict with Creationism—the religious view that all of nature was born of God—still abounds today.
from Biography.com
Murray Watts is a well known British playwright and screenwriter, and is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Miracle Maker, and the screenwriter for the film of the same name, featuring Ralph Fiennes and Julie Christie. An animated film on the life of Jesus, The Miracle Maker was the top-rated TV movie for ABC Network during the Easter season of 2000 and has been viewed by millions around the world. Watts is also the author of the best-selling The Bible for Children, which has been translated into more than 20 languages, and the screenwriter for KJB, The Book That Changed the World, directed by Norman Stone (Shadowlands), and featuring John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings). Watts also wrote and directed the one-man play, The Dream, based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, which he later adapted for the film of the same name starring Jeremy Irons, which went on to spawn the TV mini-series, Tales from the Madhouse. Watts has often worked with actor Andrew Harrison to create solo performances. Mr. Darwin's Tree is their latest collaboration.
Andrew Harrison has worked in film, TV, theater and radio for over thirty years. His theater credits include Glyn and It with Dame Penelope Keith on national tour, the premier tour of Peter Nichol’s Blue Murder and the West End Production with the late Sir Michael Hordern of Trelawny of the Wells. He made his repertory debut in Exeter playing the leads in Caryl Churchill’s Serious Money and Alan Ayckbourne’s A Chorus of Disapproval. Andrew is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s drama department. His film credits include An Ideal Husband, The Sea Change, A Little Loving, and Dorian Gray. For TV: Florence Nightingale, The Life of Pepys, Miss Marple, 2000 Acres of Sky, The Bill, Birds of a Feather, You Rang M’Lord?, Beyond Narnia and Summer in Transylvania.
