Possible Worlds (play)

"Possible Worlds", written in 1990 by John Mighton, is an unusual play. Part murder mystery, part science-fiction, and part mathematical philosophy, it follows the multiple parallel lives of the mysterious George Barber. 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.

Mighton, a mathematician from University of Toronto's Fields Institute, brought his considerable professional experience to bear on the writing of the play.

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 changeroom of a municipal swimming baths.

In the year 2000, a film adaptation of Possible Worlds was released. The film, directed by Robert Lepage and starring Tom McCamus and Tilda Swinton, garnered wide critical acclaim, won two Genie Awards, and was nominated for a further four.