Scientific Americans

Ian C. Nelson is Assistant Director of Libraries at the University of
Saskatchewan.

Mighton has been writer-in-residence at Theatre Passe Muraille and at
the Caribbean American Repertory Theatre. His Scientific
Americans—with productions in both New York and Toronto—has received
public acclaim and critical honor (it received a Dora Mavor Moore award
in 1987). The text, published in the familiar Playwrights Canada Press
format, is a welcome addition to the repertoire of available Canadian
scripts. Every scene of this spare, episodic play packs intelligent,
dramatic punch. The author cleverly confronts issues of freedom and
creativity, military research, artificial intelligence, protest and
political paranoia without getting trapped in a world of high technology
or science fiction and without ever losing track of his characters’
humanity. This is a play that knocks your breath away even as it sets
your mind whirling with ideas. The impact of Scientific Americans might
be likened to that of the film The Decline of the American Empire, but
Mighton’s play comes in a tight dramatic package just begging for a
host of regional productions.