People often refer to the idea that we are living in 1984, but to what extent is that a valid observation about contemporary society? If Big Brother is always watching, how is he watching us now? And to what end? In recent months, revelations about the NSA's PRISM programme have complicated our love affair with digital technology. Our mobile phones have been transformed into the equivalent of Orwell's telescreens, watching us as much as we watch them.
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Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Descartes Demon
In his 1641 book, Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes starts by considering the nature of reality. How do we know, he asks himself, that the world around us actually exists and is not just a projection of our minds?
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A picture of the theatre of Dionysus in Athens taken in 1870 by Sebah Pascal (1823 - 1886).
Ancient Greek Theatre
Euripides’ Medea was first performed in at the City Dionysia Festival in Athens in 431BC, nearly 2,500 years ago.
What would it have been like to have attended the original production? It’s difficult to know for sure. There is not enough historical evidence to present a definitive picture and scholars argue over the exact details. There is, however, one thing we can know for sure. The experience of watching a play in the theatre in ancient Greece was very different from watching a play in a theatre today.
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If You Have Time to Read This, You Have Time to Save the Arts from Funding Cuts
In September, I was asked by Papercut Theatre to write a short play in response to the impending arts cuts. The piece was staged as part of Cut Off at Theatre 503. At the time, I felt enthusiastic about the project. The arts community was pulling together to oppose the approaching cuts. Petitions were being signed, the Arts Funding site was buzzing with discussion and I Value the Arts twibbons were all over Twitter.
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Photo by ray roper/iStock / Getty Images
How Polish Playwriting Stole the Show
Tadeusz Słobodzianek's Our Class, which had its world premiere at the National theatre in London last September, has won the 2010 Nike Literary award. For the first time ever, Poland's most prestigious literary prize has been scooped by a play.
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