State Theatre Company of South Australia and Sydney Theatre Company

Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide, October 17

Plays that deal with the conflict between science and religion are not new and it is a debate that will continue to rage. It’s always interesting to see which side wins out as the curtain falls. But with John Doyle’s new play, Vere (Faith), it’s neither. Love reigns supreme. And we are left with the firm belief that, in the end, nothing else really matters.

The story beings with Vere, on stage in front of the curtain, delivering his final lecture and bidding farewell to his students. He is soon to fly to Switzerland to work with a team of fellow scientists on the Higgs Bosen particle. However a diagnosis of rapid onset dementia means the trip never happens. His career, and his life, is cut horribly and unjustly short.

Holding an ancient rock, a tool from the stone ages, Vere marvels at what man was, what he is now, and considers what it is that makes us all complete. He never fully answers the question, but he throws it out to his students for them to think on,...