The many voices of Thought

I am often asked - why do you perform from the history of philosophy? Why do you not perform more modern stuff? And why do you not use modern philosophy to address the problems of today, as is surely implied by calling what I do 'Stand Up'. A fair question, in many ways, for perhaps the label 'Stand Up' does imply conventional contemporary commentary. Isn't that what stand up is?
 Maybe, but on a deep level, such an argument, misses the point of philosophy itself. For me philosophy, ancient or modern, is really all about using the past of thought to articulate what it is to have a mind, to think and so be free in the present. For it is in the past, that you see the ideas that have given you your mind,  emerge, and then mutate as they become what we are today. It is the past therefore that can teach you how you became what you currently are, and so open you up to becoming different. A move which, rightly or wrongly, I always feel, that an issue based approach, on modern trendy topics, could never quite aspire to. But I am certainly at fault, if this move is not always clear, a fault, that I hope my latest performance piece goes some way to addressing.
Here it is - so judge for yourself!