"There is no "right" way to mount PROOF. It is one of those beautifully written plays that can be approached from any number of directions." says Faith Catline, the director of the 2001 Tony Award Winner and the Pulitzer Prize Winner For The Best Drama. The dramatic piece which was written by David Auburn, is presented by the Worchester Foothills Theater Company and is about the fine line between genius and insanity, early success and life-long striving to surpass or equal that success, family dynamics, sibling rivalry and trust. All this different, but still combinable subjects make PROOF a worth seeing show that inspires its audience.
The whole plot is set in the backyard of an old house in Chicago in September 2003 which belonged to Robert, one of the 4 characters in this performance. He was a mathematician who had great success at a young age, but developed a mental illness in his late 20's.
When the plot takes place he is already dead but appears in the flashbacks or as a kind of hallucination of Catharine his daughter. She herself is in her early 20's and dropped out of school to aid Robert. Catherine has an odd personality and is afraid of maybe having her father's illness, but she got his ability with Mathematics, which gives the whole drama a surprising turn. Her older sister Claire is engaged and lives in New York. She feels guilty for letting her sister give up her dreams and not helping out with the dying father. Now she wants her to come to New York so she can take care of her. The only thing that holds her up is Hal, a former student of her father, for whom she has mixed feelings: from love over to disappointment, caused by missing trust.