I was educated as a scientist, with a PhD spent studying stellar magnetic fields, and work as a maths teacher. So sometimes, I bring science into the mix.

 

FACING THE IMPOSSIBLE IN PHYSICS
With J.Y. Saville
York Festival of Ideas, York, UK, June 2018

Not so many centuries ago, everyone knew the Sun orbited the Earth; any other model of the Universe was impossible. But that didn’t make it true.
Scientific progress is sometimes portrayed as a smooth and logical process, uncovering the next jigsaw piece of some eternal and abiding Truth about the world we live in. In fact it’s a sequence of hypothesis, observation and new improved hypothesis. All observations need to be interpreted, and that isn’t – and probably can’t be – completely divorced from the beliefs, fears and expectations of the society it’s interpreted within. Sometimes the only way to make real progress is to defy convention and imagine the impossible.

Jacqui wrote a blog post about our performance.

The artwork drawing by Jess Wallace for this portfolio was inspired by this video from DJSadhu, which reminds us that the Sun is moving too.

 

TICK-TOCK, STORIES OF CLOCK
With J.Y. Saville
York Festival of Ideas, York, UK, June 2016

Tick-Tock: the sound of time passing, ineluctably, one regular interval after another. This evening we share tales from Africa and Japan; talk of railway timetables and Calendar Riots; introduce Einstein’s  Relativity and the latest science on time-travel;  and muse on the present moment. With a blend of stories and science, we explore the concept of time.

Jacqui wrote an article about our performance and the philosophy behind it for the SciArt magazine STEAM special.

 

IN THE BEGINNING & WHAT CAME AFTER
With Cath Heinemeyer
French Version: St-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, France, April 2015
York Festival of Ideas, York Theatre Royal, York, UK, June 2014

Many of the world’s myths spring from the continual tension between the powers of order & chaos. The emergence of life from the primordial soup; the epic battles between gods and creatures of the underworld; humankind’s ongoing attempts at taming nature, and her resistance. Can stories show us the paths through this wilderness?