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 Johannes 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 sixteenth-century astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician Johannes Kepler, the play draws disturbing parallels between medieval and modern thought.

John Mighton is a mathematician, author, playwright, and the founder of JUMP Math, a successful school program designed to tutor children who are having difficulties in math. John has written an inspirational book based on his experiences with JUMP called The Myth of Ability: Nurturing Mathematical Talent in Every Child, published by House of Anansi Press. He also released a follow-up book to The End of Ignorance. Mighton completed a PhD in mathematics at the University of Toronto and has lectured in philosophy at McMaster University. He held an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship 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 across Canada, as well as in Europe, Japan, and the United States, and have won several 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. John was also the recipient of the 2005 Elinore & Lou Siminovitch Prize. Mighton’s play Possible Worlds was made into a full-length feature film directed by renowned director/playwright Robert Lepage. He is currently adapting Brian Greene’s book The Elegant Universe for the Lincoln Centre with Robert Lepage.

John Mighton's profile page

• Winner, Chalmers Canadian Play Award
• Winner, Dora Maver Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, Small Theatre
• Winner, Governor General's Literary Award for Drama

"A Short History of Night confirms Mighton's status as an intellectually absorbing writer…"

Toronto Star