Double-Blind

I was back at The Theatre By The Lake last night. In spite of atrociously stormy weather & the presence of Bob Dylan on TV, a decent crowd had come along to enjoy the latest in the 'tEXtPERIMENT' season - a series of new plays about ethics and issues in contemporary science. And the rehearsed reading was an absolute cracker - Double-Blind is a beautifully crafted drama of revelation centring on what seems to be a sort of hi-tech dating agency but turns out to be a distinctly sinister attempt at manipulating the thoughts feelings and desires of whole populations - a sort of Blairite engineering of human souls. It's written by Jonathan Higgs, a young Cambridge graduate whose work has not previously been performed. The play addressed serious issues while building up a fine head of narrative steam by revealing the truth about its four characters in a smoothly assured manner. The audience obviously enjoyed it and were positively helpful in their comments to the author in the post-play discussion that I chaired. Get to see it if you can.