Overview

'Beauty, to us physicists, means something we've never seen before.' An existential PhD student hunting dark matter collides with: A disillusioned illusionist A teenage medium with a secret A murdered mathematician A trailblazing astronomer  Together, they shed new light on the greatest unsolved mystery of the universe.  Witty, ingenious and daringly theatrical, Emma Howlett's Aether explores physics, faith and magic in a play that tracks humanity's insatiable fascination with the unknown. Aether was first performed at Summerhall during the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It received widespread critical acclaim and was named Best Theatre Show of the Fringe by the Telegraph. It transferred to Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in 2026. 'Funny, slick and fiendishly clever' — The Times 'A high-energy, beautifully-presented inquiry into the mysteries of the universe... subversive and powerful... successful, inspired, and wonderful in equal measure' — Theatre Weekly 'A smart feminist take on the mysteries of the physical universe and the eternal limits of science... Howlett, who also directs, has built a fluid, ever-shifting production that spins her ideas with a dazzling lightness of touch... a collage of truth and illusion, one that embraces the existential fear of always having more to learn about an evasive universe... Aether is never less than accomplished' — Guardian 'A tour de force of theatre... sheer brilliance' — Indiependent 'A head-spinningly clever meditation on quantum physics, humanity's obsession for discovery and history's habit of forgetting female scientists... the smartest hour of theatre at the [Edinburgh] festival' — The Stage

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9781839045486

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Reviews

'Funny, slick and fiendishly clever' * The Times * 'A high-energy, beautifully-presented inquiry into the mysteries of the universe... subversive and powerful... successful, inspired, and wonderful in equal measure' * Theatre Weekly * 'A smart feminist take on the mysteries of the physical universe and the eternal limits of science... Howlett, who also directs, has built a fluid, ever-shifting production that spins her ideas with a dazzling lightness of touch... a collage of truth and illusion, one that embraces the existential fear of always having more to learn about an evasive universe... Aether is never less than accomplished' * Guardian * 'A tour de force of theatre... sheer brilliance' * Indiependent * 'A head-spinningly clever meditation on quantum physics, humanity's obsession for discovery and history's habit of forgetting female scientists... the smartest hour of theatre at the [Edinburgh] festival' * The Stage *

Author Information

Emma Howlett is a British-Irish theatre director and writer. As Artistic Director of award-winning company TheatreGoose, Emma writes, directs, and produces an expanding repertoire of critically acclaimed work including Her Green Hell, Sisters Three, and Aether. She was named one of The Stage's Fringe Five in 2025. Author photo by Giulia Ferrando

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