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The Science Play
As a season of Radio 4 science-themed plays draws to a close on Saturday with Tom Stoppard鈥檚 Arcadia, Quentin and guests attempt to trace the links between science and drama. Which aspects of science make the best plays? From Dr Faustus to Dr Dolittle, Frankenstein to Einstein, is there anything science can bring to drama, and if so, does it have to be accurate?

Birmingham University鈥檚 Kirsten Shepherd-Barr is the author of 鈥淪cience on Stage鈥� 鈥� perhaps the first systematic look at the phenomenon of the science play. Prof Stuart Firestein is a Broadway producer turned neuroscientist at New York鈥檚 Columbia University.

Phil Ball is an award winning science writer and runs his own theatre company, 鈥淗omunculus鈥�. Ex-biology teacher Stephen Webster is a philosopher of science at London鈥檚 Imperial College and has written science plays for radio.

And Simon Parry is a project manager at the Wellcome Trust鈥檚 education programme that supports theatre and other young people鈥檚 arts projects that deal with biomedical science.