By Tom Morton-Smith 

Directed by John Cunningham 

Associate Direction by Carole Carr 

1939: fascism spreads across Europe, Franco  marches on Barcelona and two German chemists discover the processes of atomic fission. In Berkeley, California, theoretical physicists recognise the horrendous potential of this new science: a weapon that draws its power from the very building blocks of the universe. 

Struggling to cast off his radical past and thrust into a position of power and authority, the charismatic J Robert Oppenheimer races to win the 'battle of the laboratories' and create a weapon so devastating that it would bring about an end not just to the Second World War but to all war. 

Originally written for the RSC in 2015, Tom Morton-Smith's play takes us into the heart of science, politics and humanity clashing in the propulsive story of the Manhattan Project and the development of the world’s first nuclear bombs.