The Hard Problem

By Benjamen Judd

What is the mind? And what constitutes consciousness? These are some of the questions acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) asks in his new play The Hard Problem which is showing at The Arts Centre Gold Coast for one night only on May 24.

The play is centred around the daily movements of Hilary, a psychology student who conducts experiments on brain motivation while sanctioning the child behaviour patterns in other patients and is mocked for her religious beliefs by fellow academics.

Through Hilary, Stoppard explores the way consciousness cannot be explained in purely mechanistic terms and that there are intrinsic values that depend on an overall moral intelligence.

A fascinating play that asks as many questions as it answers, The Hard Problem is guaranteed to make you think. If it matters. Which, ultimately, is the big question isn’t it?

The Hard Problem by Tom Stoppard will play at the Arts Centre Gold Coast for one night only on May 24.