God’s Dice
Soho Theatre, London

Professor Stephen Hawking, who wrote that scientific discoveries about the origins of the universe might reveal “the mind of God”, insisted that he had used the phrase metaphorically, but many people of faith refused to believe him.

The possibility that science might prove, rather than debunk, the possibility of a divine creator is a promising premise for fiction. In John Updike’s novel, Roger’s Version (1986), a Christian evangelical student tries to use computers to corroborate theology. In Peter James’ Absolute Proof (2018), contemporary technology must assess evidence that seems to confirm what the Churches say.

The genre is now graced by God’s Dice, a first play from the comedian and novelist, David Baddiel. Schematically, but intriguingly, the protagonist, university physics lecturer Henry Brook, is married to a writer whose books share subject matter and success with those of Professor Richard Dawkins. She flies around the world hectoring the faithful as brainless.