Affected by the Effects

The 'big move' is complete and the office has been officially turned upside down. Simon and I are very happy with our shiny new desk, glossy blue floor and big windows. In fact we're so happy we think we may even be working a bit harder. Although not hard enough to avoid a brief peek at what the oracle Wikipedia has to say about the effect of changing your office space...

After some extremely thorough research we are pretty convinced that we are prime examples of both the Hawthorne effect and the Pygmalion effect. "What are these?, tell us more!" I hear you cry. Well...

The term 'Hawthorne effect' was coined by Henry A. Landsberger in 1955 when he was studying some experiments held at the Hawthorne Works in Chicago in the 1920s-early 1930s.

Hawthorne Works commissioned a study to see whether their workers would work more or less productively in different levels of light. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the higher the level of light, the more productive the workers. Other changes examined included keeping work stations clean, getting rid of obstacles on the floor and moving workstations. Here at Hoipolloi HQ all these changes have taken place, and we are sure we're working harder, although maybe this is a result of the Pygmalion effect....

The Pygmalion effect refers to the phenomenon of placing a greater expectation on someone, in order to make them perform better. Perhaps we're just expecting to work harder because we've perused the world wide web and become enlightened about the Hawthorne effect, which has now smoothly taken us directly under the influence of the Pygmalion effect...

But now I'm just confused, so, moving swiftly onwards to certain territory, the really exciting news for this weekend is that...drum roll please....

Hugh Hughes will be performing his award winning show, 360, at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich on Sunday. If you are nearby, or fancy a jolly Sunday evening outing to Ipswich we would love to see you at the show. You can book tickets by clicking here.

A return to Reading, Ipswich and Plymouth

Do you want to see Hugh Hughes in... 360 but are not able to make it up to the Edinburgh Fringe? Fear not, as today I have a some exciting news!

This weekend we're taking Hugh off to the Latitude Festival. He's particularly excited at the chance to be part of this fantastic festival on a hugely diverse bill alongside Grace Jones, the Pet Shop Boys, Dave Gorman, the RSC and our good friends at English Touring Theatre! His performance of 360 is on Sunday at 12.10pm in the Theatre Arena.

And I'm delighted to announce a further exclusive pre-Edinburgh preview at South Street Arts Centre in Reading on Thursday 23 July. We were last in Reading back in 2005 and so we're excited to return to share the new show with audiences there.

And following the show's run in Edinburgh, we'll also be returning to the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich (our co-producing partner on Story of a Rabbit) for a performance on Sunday 11 October followed by a week at the Drum Theatre Plymouth at the end of November.

All these dates are now on sale and we'd be delighted to see you there!

Full details here...

Thu 23 July, 8pm - South Street Arts Centre, Reading

Tickets: 0118 960 6060 or book online here

Sun 11 October, 7.45pm - New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich

Tickets: 01473 295900 or book online here

24 to 28 November, 7.45pm - Drum Theatre Plymouth

Tickets: 01752 267222 or book online here

And of course, we're in Edinburgh from 5 to 31 August. Book your tickets here!