Text of the Day: Humble Boy

Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.

“Stephen Hawking had his breakthrough when he was getting into bed. But because of his motor neurone disease it took him an age. Throwing back the sheets, plugging in the electric blanket, hauling himself up, tucking himself in, required a gargantuan effort. The nerve cells in his spinal cord were disintegrating, his muscles were playing tricks on him, but all the while his brain was buzzing with complex equations. They went showering through him, like Shakespearean sonnets. By the time he set his alarm clock he’d cracked it.” – Felix in Charlotte Jones’ Humble Boy

Humble Boy runs at the Orange Tree Theatre, London until 14 April 2018

Aleks Sierz

Aleks Sierz FRSA is a theatre critic, and author of the seminal study of new 1990s playwrights, In-Yer-Face Theatre. His other books include Rewriting the Nation, The Theatre of Martin Crimp, John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights and Modern British Playwriting. His latest book (co-authored with Lia Ghilardi) is The Time Traveller’s Guide to British Theatre. He also works as a journalist, broadcaster, and lecturer. Aleks blogs independently at www.sierz.co.uk and tweets at @alekssierz.