Cancelling Socrates
'They say Pericles caught democracy from you in bed.'
Today, Socrates is revered as the founding father of Western philosophy. But in 399 BC Athens, he was a pain in the neck.
The plague is over, democracy is (just about) restored, and everyone would like to get back to normal. How hard is it for one ageing firebrand to stop asking questions? It's time to shut him up...
Based on eyewitness accounts, Howard Brenton's Cancelling Socrates is a provocative and witty play about an uncompromising voice in dangerous times. It was premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in June 2022, directed by the venue's Artistic Director Tom Littler.
Howard Brenton’s original plays include The Shadow Factory, The Blinding Light, Lawrence After Arabia, Doctor Scroggy’s War, Drawing the Line, #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei, 55 Days, Eternal Love, Anne Boleyn and Paul. His adaptations include Strindberg’s Miss Julie and Dances of Death, Goethe’s Faust and Robert Tressell’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.