Theatre Guild

Proof by American playwright David Auburn was developed at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey, during 1999, premiered Off-Broadway in May 2000 and transferring to Broadway in October 2000. Notably the play won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The New York Drama Critic's Circle for Best American Play and the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play. A 2002 production at The Donmar starred Gwyneth Paltrow, Sara Stewart, Richard Coyle and Ronald Pickup.

The play focuses on Catherine, the daughter of Robert, a recently deceased mathematical genius and professor at the University of Chicago, who she had cared for through a lengthy mental illness. Upon his death, his ex-graduate student Hal discovers  a paradigm-shifting proof about prime numbers in Robert's office, 


The title refers both to that proof and to the play's central question: Can Catherine prove the proof's authorship and authenticity? The play explores Catherine's fear of following in her father's footsteps, both mathematically  and mentally and her desperate attempts to stay in control.