Have you ever heard of mathematical theatre? You might say that “there’s probably some math involved in this,” or “my grades are way too low for me to understand this,” but actually, mathematical theatre is something very slightly related to the “queen of all sciences”. This type of artistic experience is based upon 3 things: humour, math, and theatre. These mathematical theatre acts are Called “X and Y,” and they were created by Marcus Satuoy and Victoria Gould who are qualified mathematicians. Not only do they show maths in a very funny way but also explain it so well that a 1st grader could even understand.
Mathematical theatre is actually a composition of philosophical and scientific topics that come into one big act of having possible reasoning to unanswerable questions. It is fascinating how they actually touch the theory of infinity, and explain it in a way that even a kid from elementary school can have an understanding of what the biggest questions about reality are. All of these mathematical aspects are also shown in action as the actors have accessories and movements that transition as well as present very hard to explain topics. This show was created and is acted out by Marcus Satuoy, who is a professor at the University of Oxford, and Victoria Gould, who is a mathematician and an actress. Both of them have done an excellent job of connecting their work with the theatre industry, which led to success and encouragement of people less interested in the world of math.
Overall, I think that the “X&Y” theatrical acts are very fun to watch and easy to understand even though there are some hard topics involved. The actors, with their previous history involved with their highly mathematical work positions were able to present their acting skills in action. I highly recommend listening to their podcast that is available on SoundCloud, or if you have time during the upcoming weekend, make a little trip to London and watch their amazing acts.
Antoni Bujanowski
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