A dramatized adaptation of a novel by a Lancaster professor that explores the life and thought of the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida, will be performed in Oxford this June.
The iconic Sheldonian Theatre, which hosted a famous interview with Derrida in 1992, will provide a wonderfully apt setting for ‘Last Train to Oxford’ which explores, amongst other things, Derrida’s complex relationship with Oxford.
Professor John Schad received funding to work on the adaptation with Fred Dalmasso.
Professor Schad says: “We’re delighted that the performance is taking place in such an iconic setting and one that has such strong connections with Derrida.
“The play is based on my book, Someone Called Derrida, which is a novelistic combination of memoir, philosophy, investigative history, detective fiction and Oxford.
“The story begins with someone calling Derrida on the phone, someone he thought was dead.
“It investigates, not just the Oxford of the 1960s but also of the 1930s, as well as espionage, exile from middle Europe, and an English public school in the middle of the Second World War.”
The ‘Last Train to Oxford’ will be performed on 1 June at 7pm and tickets for the performance can be bought here.
Derrida is often thought of as the founder of deconstruction, a mode of thinking or reading that puts into question such seeming foundations of Western culture as truth, identity, and consciousness.
For a video of the 1992 Sheldonian interview see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s8SSilNSXw.