Join physicist-philosopher-pianist Philip Southey for an unforgettable romp through quantum physics, improvised classical music and tantric philosophy, as we explore some of the weird ways we make sense of our world. “Electron”, “Major 7th”, “Orgasm” and “Orange” are just some of the “things” we’ll explore in in this theatrical symphony. 

Philip has played bagpipes for the queen. He also graduated with a BSc Astrophysics from UCT and a BA Philosophy from Oxford University. Born in Cape Town, he enjoys a special connection with the porcupines of Table Mountain, and playing the piano is his favourite hobby and pious pursuit. He is in his second last year (the second year to be called his "last year") of a PhD in Physics Education at UCT. 

Audience Responses

Hello. The show was amazing and so enjoyable. 5 stars.

All the music needs to be played on a real piano. The keyboard - sounds like a keyboard - and the plastic clicks are infuriating. I found the jokes and humour somewhat infantile and the accents tiresome and was being undressed the entire show absolutely necessary? Also, the final scene - the cord creation, was painful to watch and if a profound point about life and everything else was being made it was lost on me. I thought there was far too much audience participation. I feel it makes things feel tacky, like street performance. I liked the basic concept of 'connection'. That was a good starting off point, but I felt like there was no comment made on it, aside from the odd fact - I learned nothing new about the human condition. Often if felt like a lesson being taught - which was obvious even before the introduction with the 'funny' accent was finished. It all felt a little like an over priced self-help retreat opener. I think it requires a great deal of thought and restructuring before letting it near a stage. Yet. It's easy to write a review. It's easy to slate. I admire the bravery it takes to perform. But in all honesty - this is the kind of feedback that helps.

Loved it – it was an emotional experience. Smart, moving, witty and original. With a few small tweaks here and there, this could be really amazing. Phil, you're a natural entertainer and I'm so glad you're doing this! Let me know if you want specific feedback again from myself and Brendan (following our conversation after the show).

Melodious, Well researched, witty, insightful & captivating! The only thing that kind of upset me for some reason was the floor piano and making the audience move to G C etc.. not sure why.. Other than that - so proud of Phil for putting together a Wonderful performance.

I really liked the French Phillipe's discussion of sex as a ferrari. I also really liked the Scottish Phil's meditation on ancestry. I didn't like the Australian Philip, his accent failed too much and although I liked the content of the skit, it needs a different accent. Perhaps queer Phil?

Things I loved: The beginning with Pisces, Aquarius, etc. That was hilarious. The explanation about entanglement -- although would be cool to have a summing up sentence or something so that I could connect the visuals to physics terms, so as to impress my friends later. The piano playing is all lovely. All the off-the-cuff audience interaction -- sharp and sweet. Using the echo function on the keyboard is amazing for the relative skit, as the sound builds. Things I didn't like as much: A few too many references to the penis. Although the bit about 'that's the image I'll leave you with' is super funny -- just crowded by the others maybe. For the relatives -- I think no need to say 'left hand, right shoulder' etc. as it's a bit complicatedly distracting. Maybe 'with her hand on your shoulder, and his hand on your other shoulder', sort of similar to how it is at the end. The sex skit was my least favourite, and probably the gender skit next. Maybe just too much focus on masculinity, or not new enough to ladies. Still good, just maybe shorten or do one or the other. It was super entertaining and funny and I loved it.

Liked: Reverb on the ancestry piano piece; it would have been great if somehow the music there was conceptually based on the idea of ancestry, perhaps in structure. For eg, could play with idea of many spread out sounds converging to one. Didn't like: Australian accent wasn't consistent. Relation between Chords piece and overall concept wasn't well communicated.

I loved it! So funny and entertaining. I learnt so much. Phil is a gifted performer and musician. You can feel his passion in his performance. Wonderful!