Possible Worlds is a play written in 1990 by John Mighton. The author, Mighton, is a mathematician and philosopher. His plays tend to meld science, drama and math into one cohesive piece. It is part murder mystery, part science-fiction, and part mathematical philosophy and follows the multiple parallel lives of the main character George Barber. Mighton, a mathematician from University of Toronto's Fields Institute, brought his considerable professional experience to bear on the writing of the play. At the play's beginning, George is found dead, with his brain missing. Two detectives set out to uncover the truth behind his grisly death, and stumble upon several strange characters. This play may be classified as a sci-fi tragic drama The play itself does not have any music. Possible Worlds won a Governor General's Literary Award for Drama in 1992 alongside Short History of Night. A film adaptation of the same name was released in 2000. Directed by Robert Lepage and starring Tom McCamus and Tilda Swinton, it garnered wide critical acclaim, won two Genie Awards, and was nominated for a further four. The theatre book was published in 1997 by Playwrights Canada Press. The play bears many conceptual similarities to Tom Stoppard's Hapgood, a play about spies and secret agents that takes place primarily in the men's changingroom of a municipal swimming baths. Production history (selected) Canadian Stage Company, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Premiere 1990 Dionysus and Apollo Stage company, Dallas, Texas – 1997 Dr. Betty Mitchell Theatre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada –1999 Chicago Cultural Center Studio Theater, Chicago, Illinois – 1999 Company of the Silvershield, Toronto, Ontario, Canada - 2000 The group at Strasberg, Lee Strasberg Creative Center, Hollywood, California – 2001 Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland – 2002 Hart House Theatre, Toronto, Canada – 2004 Sullivan Mahoney Court House Theatre, Ontario, Canada – 2008 Wakefield Players Theater Company, Wakefield, Quebec, Canada - 2009 Stratford Festival Studio Theatre, Stratford, Ontario - 2015 Fix Theatre, Iași, Romania - 2015 Plot synopsis The play begins with detectives Berkley and Williams at a crime scene where a man, identified as George Barber, has been murdered, the top of his head cut off and his brain stolen. One of the detective is interviewing a neuroscientist (who we learn at the end of the play is named Pensfield) specializing on research of the nervous system. Pensfield has many brains in jars hooked up to life support and lights