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ECU SCREENS concludes its fall season with “The Hard Problem” at 1 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16, in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center of the Bill S. Cole University Center.

Written by “notoriously knotty” (Daily Mail) Tom Stoppard, “The Hard Problem” wrestles with questions of faith, evolution and human consciousness.

ECU SCREENS is collaborating with Sigma Tau Delta and The Honors Student Association to deliver the “intellectually charged” (Evening Standard) recorded-live production of “The Hard Problem,” performed at the Royal National Theatre of London. Open to the public, the screening is $5 for students and $10 for members of the community.

Acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) returns to the National Theatre with his highly-anticipated new play “The Hard Problem,” directed by Nicholas Hytner (Othello, Hamlet, One Man, Two Guvnors).

Hilary, a young psychology researcher at a brain science institute, is nursing a private sorrow and a troubling question at work, where psychology and biology meet. If there is nothing but matter, what is consciousness? This is ‘the hard problem’ which puts Hilary at odds with her colleagues who include her first mentor Spike, her boss Leo and the billionaire founder of the institute, Jerry. Is the day coming when the computer and the fMRI scanner will answer all the questions psychology can ask? Meanwhile, Hilary needs a miracle, and she is prepared to pray for one.

“The Hard Problem” concludes the series of NT Live productions presented by ECU SCREENS this fall. NT Live is the National Theatre's groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre to cinemas around the world. In the spring, ECU SCREENS will present four different Royal National Theater recorded-live stage performances as well as the annual Foreign Film Festival in February. The screenings, which range from classic literary masterpieces to popular contemporary works, are all open to the public.

To learn more about ECU SCREENS and the spring schedule, like the ECU SCREENS Facebook page or visit www.ecuscreens.blogspot.com. For more information about the Royal National Theatre in London and the NT Live screenings, visit https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/. Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir, co-director of ECU SCREENS, may be contacted at (580) 559-5929 or rnichlsn@ecok.edu .

-ECU-

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