Possible Worlds and A Short History of Night

Terry Goldie is an associate professor of English at York University and
author of Fear and Temptation.

It doesn’t take reference to C.P. Snow to realize that the humanities
and sciences often seem very far apart. That is probably the reason why
literary types are always so fascinated with the more abstruse elements
of science. What scientists have often claimed to be objective and
eventually knowable, we recognize to be a dark mystery.

Possible Worlds and A Short History of Night are part of that mystery,
especially the dark part. The first is a story of a killer who steals
brains, while the latter is a biography of the astronomer Johannes
Kepler and his difficulties in dealing with that remnant of the Dark
Ages, the inquisitor, who looked for whatever witches or scientists were
offending the worldview of medieval Christianity.

Both plays have been stage successes, Possible as a nominee for the
Chalmers Canadian Play Award, and Night as the winner of that award.
While both are journeys through the grotesque, Night wallows in passion
and gore, complete with a medieval torture on stage. By way of contrast,
Possible emphasizes the enigma of modern science: if almost everything
is scientifically possible, is a living bodyless brain impossible? What
do such scientific possibilities say about the impossibilities of the
lovers in the play, who never know each other, never tell the same
story, never understand?

It is easy to see why a good production of Night, with a nice bit of
flamboyant acting, could win an audience, but I prefer Possible as a
piece to read. Mighton seems to have a very clear sense of the terror
and confusion associated with developments in contemporary biology. As
well, the variety of enigmas is dependent not on characterization but on
the turns of ideas as represented in possible dialogue. Night probably
deserved its award, but Possible shows Mighton to be a playwright of
quite amazing intelligence, and, much more, the ability to package that
intelligence in a play.