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Why did you choose this play?

I was approached about how to commemorate Darwin in the theatre. So I read On The Origin of Species from cover to cover. I was fascinated by it, especially by Darwin obviously struggling with the knowledge that he was going to upset a vast number of people. Then I remembered that at university I had directed a scene from Inherit the Wind. I had a look at it again and I was very, very impressed. So I contacted , and proposed the possibility of the play.

Inherit the Wind is set in 1920s America. What relevance does it have today?

Creationism versus evolution is still hotly debated, to the point where it is still a legal issue in the US. A considerable proportion of people in UK are opposed to evolution. In areas of the Middle East, Darwin is censored. Darwin has still only reached a minority of the population of this planet.

Do you think evolution and religion can be reconciled?

I genuinely think that each individual should be resolving that question for themselves. It requires a leap of faith to say I believe in an omniscient creator. By the same token, scientific inquiry requires a leap of faith. Where did the matter in the big bang come from? Where does the nothingness that contained the matter come from? One thing we know is that we don’t know.

So the play doesn’t have heroes and villains.

It’s not valuable to approach this play like it’s an open-and-shut case – here we are as the audience looking at a group of total maniacs in the south of the US. The reality is more sophisticated and creates more food for thought.

Can you give us an example?

William Jennings Bryan [the creationists’ lawyer] was a religious fundamentalist but surprisingly he had very socialist beliefs. He stood for the presidency three times, and each time was for the poor, the dispossessed, the working man. What he saw in Darwinism was the worst kind of survival-of-the-fittest capitalism.

What are you hoping the audience will take away from the play?

Some people will have their minds changed, some people will have their views confirmed, but I think a lot of people in the audience will not have listened to a debate about evolution. I think people will be fascinated by the arguments.