Six Degrees of Separation

(Copyright Old Vic)

I first read about this supposition about five years ago. This theory proposes that every living person on this planet is but six people away from knowing somebody else. This is so, even if you have never actually met them. So in theory I am six degrees away from knowing Barack Obama, the incumbent president of the United States of America. This is how the theory is supposed to work. If a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth. It was popularized by a play written by John Guare.

So I would think about who amongst my friends, colleagues or contacts is most likely to know someone who knows Mr. Barack Obama? I would then e-mail them and they in turn would e-mail somebody else and the theory is that within 6 people I would actually make contact with Mr. Obama. Now I happen to know a VP for Goldman Sachs as well as having some family contacts in Chicago (just by chance). I would then decide who would be most likely to be an important link in that chain and send them an e-mail and then wait and see if Mr. Obama gets in touch?  I concede it's not really likely to occur, is it? But, one never knows. I know of an FBI agent who lives in Washington D.C. and perhaps through him I might just get my link? I hope to meet with this agent in the flesh later this year and I will promulgate my idea to him and see how I get on. I'll keep you posted!

Now you might just be wondering, what has this to do with London? Well, at this present time, the Old Vic theatre is staging a production of John Guare's play, 'Six Degrees of Separation'. This agent has secured tickets for this week and I'm looking forward to seeing this play. The play is inspired by real-life events of a flamboyant con artist who convinced wealthy residents in Manhattan that he was the son of actor, Sidney Poitier. Six Degrees of Separation is a supposedly a captivating study of society's pretensions that are exposed by one man's self-confidence and imagination.

This production features Lesley Manville, Obi Abili Anthony Head. All pictured above.

I'm looking forward to seeing it and I will attempt to give you a critique.