The Manual Oracle at the Yard Theatre from 27 May

The Manual Oracle, an adaptation of Baltasar Gracian's 1647 'Manual Oracle, or the Art of Prudence' will run at the Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick, east London from 27 May to 14 June 2014.

The production has been adapted by Phoebe von Held who also directs. It is inspired by the world's first 'self-help book' and "creates a kaleidoscope of brief scenarios, visual tableaux and sound pieces that explore the theme of paranoia amongst the context of contemporary issues, such as racist xenophobia, surveillance and political rhetoric."

Developed in collaboration with psychologists, psychiatrists and patients, it is a multi-disciplinary performance that explores contemporary manifestations of paranoia, suspicion and self-consciousness. Phoebe von Held began development on the production having been awarded a Leverhulme Artists Residency, hosted by the Institute of Psychiatry King's College London and follow-up funding from Arts Council England and Maudsley Charity.

The Manual Oracle is programmed at The Yard Theatre as part of Anxiety 2014, a new London wide arts festival that explores how the concepts of anxiety are lived, perceived and represented by artists, individuals and communities. The venue is located next to the Olympic Stadium in London's Hackney Wick and is about new ideas, new writing and the live event. It won the 2014 Off West End Theatre Awards Special Panel Award for Outstanding Achievement.