The Experiment | A Philosophical Thriller

What would you do if one life had to be lost every day?

The Experiment begins with a simple question, almost abstract. And yet, as choices accumulate, abstraction turns into responsibility, and responsibility quietly slides into guilt.

This special evening at The Nine is built around a live read-through of The Experiment, a play by Martin Westlake that explores how ordinary people respond when moral decisions become unavoidable. A peaceful village. A mysterious stranger. A proposal that no one should ever have to face. What follows is not a story of heroes and villains, but a disquieting mirror held up to our own ways of thinking.

This is not a theatre performance in the traditional sense. The text is read live by a cast of local actors, allowing the ideas, the language and the ethical tension to take centre stage. The absence of full staging invites the audience to engage more directly with the questions raised - not as spectators, but as thinkers.

What follows is not a Q&A, but a confrontation with the questions the play leaves hanging. Led by Deborah O’Donoghue, the conversation begins with the origins of the play explored with Martin Westlake, before opening into its philosophical depths with Philippe Van Parijs - becoming a true extension of the experience, with the audience at its core.

This is an evening for those who enjoy stories that unsettle, and discussions that linger long after the final words. An invitation to think together, about choice, conscience, and what happens when “doing nothing” is no longer an option.

This moral dilemma will be brought to life by,

Martin Westlake

British-Belgian author, playwright, biographer and former senior EU civil servant. He writes across fiction, science fiction, historical novels and theatre, with several of his plays performed in Brussels and across Europe. He is also a visiting professor at the College of Europe and the London School of Economics. Alongside his literary work, he has published widely on European politics and institutions.

Philippe Van Parijs

Philosopher and political economist, professor emeritus at UCLouvain (Hoover Chair of Economic and Social Ethics) and special guest professor at KU Leuven.He has also taught at leading universities abroad, including for several years at Harvard and Oxford.He is internationally known for his work on social justice, democracy, linguistic justice and basic income. He is an influential public intellectual in Brussels, Belgium and beyond.

Deborah O'Donoghue

British-Irish author and former winner of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Short Story Prize. Her debut novel, Sea of Bones, was published in 2019, and she also works as a travel writer and journalist. A qualified English teacher and trained performing arts practitioner, she brings a strong narrative and dramaturgical eye to her work. She edits fiction with particular expertise in tension, structure and character development. She also works in translation, voiceover, and cultural non-fiction editing.