The Hard Problem: A Play

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The Hard Problem: A Play Details

Above all don’t use the word good as though it meant something in evolutionary science.The Hard Problem is a tour de force, exploring fundamental questions of how we experience the world, as well as telling the moving story of a young woman whose struggle for understanding her own life and the lives of others leads her to question the deeply held beliefs of those around her.Hilary, a young psychology researcher at the Krohl Institute for Brain Science, is nursing a private sorrow and a troubling question. She and other researchers at the institute are grappling with what science calls the “hard problem”—if there is nothing but matter, what is consciousness? What Hilary discovers puts her fundamentally at odds with her colleagues, who include her first mentor and one-time lover, Spike; her boss, Leo; and the billionaire founder of the institute, Jerry. Hilary needs a miracle, and she is prepared to pray for one.

Reviews

One of Stoppard's best and most approachable plays since "The Real Thing." The National Theatre production was brilliant, and the poetry of the language came soaring through what is a very intimate play about a very large subject. I love it when Stoppard, or any playwright, for that matter, successfully embeds large themes in the lives of ordinary people, and rarely is it as well-done as it is here. Reading the script again, after seeing the production, was very special. I could relive moments that I knew had been exquisite, and dwell over the lovely dialogue. As with any play, it's designed to be seen, and secondarily read as literature, but if you have a chance to read it and not see it, and you're interested in meaningful, contemporary theater, at least read it.

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