A Short History of Night
A Short History of Night
John Mighton
A “Short History of Night” charts the strange origins of contemporary science through two of the Renaissance’s most unusual figures – mercurial, ambitious Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe and meticulous, idealistic geometrician and christian mystic Kepler. As religious wars and witch hunts rage outside the castle walls, an unlikely band of alchemists and astrologers vie to unlock the secrets of the cosmos. Based loosely on the life of 16th century astronomer, astrologer and mathematician Johannes Kepler, the play draws disturbing parallels between mediaeval and modern thought.
Available
2006
0-88754-892-X
Drama
Playwrights Canada Press
John Mighton
John Mighton is a mathematician, author, playwright and the founder of JUMP Math, a successful school-based programme designed to support children who struggle with mathematics. He wrote “The Myth of Ability: Nurturing Mathematical Talent in Every Child”, published by House of Anansi Press, about his experience with JUMP. Mighton holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of Toronto and has taught at McMaster University. He received an NSERC research grant for research in graph theory and knot theory at the Fields Institute and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto.
Mighton’s plays “Scientific Americans”, “Possible Worlds”, “A Short History of Night”, “Body and Soul,” “The Little Years”, and “Half Life” have been performed in Canada, as well as in Europe, Japan, and the United States, and have won national awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for “Possible Worlds” and “A Short History of Night” in 1992, and for “Half Life” in 2005.