This past week, Her Campus Nottingham were kindly invited to the press night of Eureka Day, a one act play set in a private elementary school in Berkeley, California. It focuses on the Executive Committee of the school in the 2018-2019 academic year, who must deal with a mumps outbreak within the school.
The play has five central characters, all archetypes in their own way; Don, the principal, trying to keep a level head, Suzanne, the parent who just cannot seem to let go of the Committee (even after decades), Eli, the young overly enthusiastic tech bro, Meiko, the quiet board member and finally Carina, the new parent on the block. I enjoyed all of these characters together, all wonderfully acted, and appreciated having a smaller cast in the play. With it only being one act, it allowed for scenes to feel succinct and dynamic and as though we really got to know each character.
The play is set over a series of Executive Committee meetings, the first one introducing Carina to the group and allowing the audience to settle into the conversation. But soon enough, we get pushed into the crisis of the play, getting us into by far my favourite scene of the play- when the mumps outbreak becomes a serious issue and the committee do an emergency online call for the parents. When the call begins, the stage splits into three; a third dedicated to the stage and actors on the call, a third dedicated to the camera of the call (as though the audience are the parents tuning in), and a final third dedicated to the comments section. It was rather impressive to look at, and in a way, strangely familiar. Whilst this play first debuted in 2018, I think it stands as a play that is more enjoyable for a post-Covid audience. It’s a situation all to familiar for every audience member; the elderly not quite understanding how the call works, commenters angrily believing they can fix the situation themselves, technical mishaps. The list goes on. And while this is a time most would likely want to forget, this was by far when the audience were laughing the most in the play, especially the comments section which was a perfect mix of laugh out loud and squeamishly awful moments. Perhaps being a viewer in the post-Covid world, we are instantly drawn to the screen rather than the drama in-front of us which is why the laughs were louder. There was also something entirely believable about the fairly simple situation of a quarantine spiralling rapidly out of control over social media, with every parent believing they are correct in the situation. This is all exacerbated by the school’s ‘community’ policy being at the forefront of the play thus far. Its all rather good fun, but the undertones of seriousness feel rather more real to a viewer in 2025 compared to a viewer in 2018, where I found myself thinking about America’s current Health Minister becoming increasingly anti-vax, and how real this situation is across America at this moment.
And while throughout the play there are different stances on vaccines for children, there is no clear villain. Towards the end of the play there is a large discussion about the issue between Suzanne and Carina who have clashing views on the issue, but the audience get to hear both sides of the argument without judgement. While I do think most audience members lean towards one side, there are no pointing fingers. Perhaps Johnathan Spector (the writer of the play) wants us to take a hint of this in an age where ignorance is taking over democracy.
The plays final scene begins post-crisis, in an almost cyclical structure, with a new parent on the committee as they navigate a new school year. Now I won’t give it away, but the final line of the play was absolutely cracking and a great way to end the show.
On that note, I really enjoyed Eureka Day. I want to say a big thank you to the Nottingham Playhouse for allowing us to watch this, it was a treat! I find it rather special when you go into a play not knowing anything about it, and Eureka Day certainly did not disappoint. It was fun, quirky, and a play I hope to watch again in the future.