What I know concerning the life and works of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida could easily be spelt out on the back of a postcard, with space left over.

The Post Card [sic] is in fact the title, in translation, of one of his better-known books, inspired by a postcard depicting Plato and Socrates which he bought on a visit to the Bodleian Library.

This information was gleaned from the Internet. From the Newspaper House library comes only one cutting devoted to him, from June 1992. It is terse, to say the least: “French philosopher Jacques Derrida, branded a ‘mediocre windbag’ by critics, was awarded an honorary degree by Cambridge University, sparking a furious academic row about the decision.”

A controversial figure, then? Certainly. Just three months before this rumpus Derrida was making waves in Oxford during an interview at the Sheldonian Theatre. This event was sponsored by Amnesty International at a time when his philosophy seemed to challenge the notion of human rights.

Appropriately, the Sheldonian is to be venue on June 1 for the 7pm performance of a new play, Last Train to Oxford, adapted (with co-writer Fred Dalmasso) from the acclaimed novel Someone Called Derrida by John Schad, the Professor of Modern Literature at Lancaster University. The work explores the complications that haunted the philosopher’s relations with Oxford academics in the 1960s.

Prof Schad told me: “We are delighted that the performance is taking place in such an iconic setting and one that has such strong connections with Derrida. The play begins with someone calling Derrida on the phone, someone he thought was dead. It investigates not just the Oxford of the 1960s but also of the 1930s, as well as espionage, exile from Europe and an English public school in the middle of the Second World War.”

Tickets from oxfordplayhouse.com