Darwin’s Flood asks the big questions about life and death with a little help from some of history’s greatest and most controversial philosophers and thinkers.
Play title: Darwin’s Flood
Author (s): Snoo Wilson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
Publication Date: 1999 (Bloomsbury Methuen Drama)
Genre: Drama
Primary Discipline: Evolutionary Theory
Secondary Discipline: Biology
Scientist (s):
Charles Darwin: A naturalist and biologist best known for his theory in evolution and the process of natural selection
Friedrich Nietzsche: German philosopher known for his writings on good and evil, the end of religion in modern society and the concept of a “super-man.”
Alexander von Humboldt: A Prussian polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and influential proponent of Romantic philosophy and science.
Source Texts: Unknown
Character Breakdown: 4 Men, 4 Women
Charles Darwin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Elizabeth Forster, Bernard Forster, Emma Darwin, Jesus, Humboldt/Mercator, Mary Magdalene, Mrs. Muller
Setting: Varies
Time Period: 1800’s
Synopsis of Play: Darwin’s Flood asks the big questions about life and death with a little help from some of history’s greatest and most controversial philosophers and thinkers. On the night of his death, Charles Darwin is visited by the Belfast-accented Jesus Christ on a bicycle, Nietzsche in a time-travelling wheelbarrow and bondage fetishist Mary Magdalene via helicopter as he comes to grips with his worst nightmare – God exists and evolution doesn’t. http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/darwins-flood-iid-138582
First Performance Date: May 6th, 1994
First Producer: Bush Theatre
Performance History: Darwin’s Flood was first performed at the Bush Theatre on May 6th, 1994. It was directed by Simon Stokes and designed by Robin Don with costumes by Katie Birrell, lighting by Chahine Yavroyan, and sound by Simon Whitehorn.
Entered by: Meaghan Yesford
Photo/Visual Research with citations
Charles Darwin Emma Darwin
