Theatre

Helen and the Space Rocket

Alan Hindle | Wednesday 17 August, 2011 11:11

People take technology for granted. A few short years ago there were no smart phones, Internet or computers smaller than a house. I remember using a friend’s Macintosh, those bulky beige boxes with the tiny black windows full of bright green characters, and being impressed when it ‘smiled’ to let me know it was working okay. I also remember sharp rocks and fire. Back in those good ol’ days, when even I was young, NASA launched Voyager, a satellite whose mission was to photograph Jupiter and Saturn before drifting off to become space junk in the desolate emptiness of space. But it didn’t. Voyager just kept going, and today, over thirty years later it’s about to leave our solar system. Kate Webster is enthralled with this ‘simple’ piece of technology. A nervous, stumbling dewy decimal-loving geek, Webster gives a delightful, decidedly low-tech lecture on her obsession. She beautifully presents the complexity of ‘simple’ things such as carbon atoms and cancer. She makes a point that the Voyager operates on a basic binary code system, while our bodies are built out of basic but seemingly-infinite combinations of only a few chemicals. Funny, goofy, and always fascinating.

Camden Fringe Festival page

---