Lamp At Midnight is a play that was written by Barrie Stavis,[1] and first produced in 1947 at New Stages, New York.[2] The play treats the 17th Century Galileo affair, which was a profound conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and Galileo Galilei over the interpretation of his astronomical observations using the newly invented telescope. By coincidence, Bertolt Brecht's play on the same theme, Life of Galileo, opened in New York just a few weeks before Lamp at Midnight. Some critics now consider Galileo to be a masterpiece,[3] but in 1947 the New York Times reviewer, Brooks Atkinson, preferred Lamp at Midnight.[2][4]
^Billington, Michael (February 13, 2013). "A Life of Galileo – review". The Guardian. the real pleasure of Roxana Silbert's modern-dress RSC revival and Mark Ravenhill's slimmed-down translation lies in the absolute clarity with which they put Brecht's masterpiece before us.
^Mitchell, Richard W. (2003). Brecht in L.A.: A Play. Intellect Books. p. 168. ISBN9781841501055. In Los Angeles, Brecht worked for several years with Laughton on an English translation/adaptation, Galileo, which opened in 1947 in Los Angeles and then on Broadway with Laughton playing the title role. The American productions, directed by Joseph Losey (with a great deal of input from Brecht), received mixed reviews in Los Angeles and harsher reviews in New York, where the production met with less success than another play about Galileo, The Lamp at Midnight, by Barrie Stavis, which opened two weeks after Brecht's play.
