The Hard Problem

The Hard Problem is Tom Stoppard's first play for the stage since Rock 'n' Roll in 2006, and his first for the National since his trilogy The Coast of Utopia

Hilary, a young psychology researcher at a brain-science institute, is nursing a private sorrow

And a troubling question at work - where do psychology and biology meet?

And if there is nothing but matter, what is consciousness?

This is 'the hard problem' which puts Hilary at odds with her colleagues

These include her first mentor Spike, her boss Leo, and the billionaire founder of the institute, Jerry

But is the day coming when the computer and the fMRI scanner will answer all the questions psychology can ask?

Meanwhile Hilary needs a miracle

And she's prepared to pray for one

Premiered at the UK's National Theatre in January, 2015

CAST
M4,F8

REVIEWS

★★★★★
"100 minutes of brilliant brainache" ~ Daily Mail

★★★★
"Stimulating. Absorbing. A rich, ideas-packed work" ~ Guardian