Socrates on Trial

This article is about the 2007 play. For the events on which the play is based, see Trial of Socrates.
Socrates on Trial
First-edition cover
(University of Toronto Press)
Written byAndrew David Irvine
CharactersStrepsiades
Pheidippides
Socrates
Stronger Argument
Weaker Argument
Meletus
Anytus
Lykon
Crito
Xanthippe
Executioner
Chorus
Date premiered2007
Place premieredChan Centre for the Performing Arts, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Original languageEnglish
SubjectThe trial of Socrates
GenreHistorical drama
SettingAncient Athens

Socrates on Trial is a play depicting the life and death of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. It tells the story of how Socrates was put on trial for corrupting the youth of Athens and for failing to honour the city's gods. The play contains adaptations of several classic Greek works: the slapstick comedy, Clouds, written by Aristophanes and first performed in 423 BCE; the dramatic monologue, Apology, written by Plato to record the defence speech Socrates gave at his trial; and Plato's Crito and Phaedo, two dialogues describing the events leading to Socrates’ execution in 399 BCE. The play was written by Andrew David Irvine of the University of British Columbia and premiered by director Joan Bryans of Vital Spark Theatre Company in 2007 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver.[1]

In the judgment of one reviewer, the play succeeds in presenting Socrates both as Plato's wise mentor and as the “pompous, arrogant and often petulant” teacher presented by Aristophanes,[2] giving modern audiences a greater appreciation of why Socrates eventually ended up being sentenced to death.

In the judgment of another reviewer, the play is “a worthy analogue of an ancient masterpiece.”[3]

  1. ^ Irvine, Andrew D. “Production Notes,” Socrates on Trial, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008, 23
  2. ^ Anon., “Socrates on Trial,” Riveting Riffs Magazine, 2008, http://www.rivetingriffs.com/Socrates%20On%20Trial.html
  3. ^ Byron Kaldis, “Philosophy and/of the Theatre,” in Anna Lazou and Georgios Patios, Art, Philosophy, Therapy, vol. 2, Athens: Arnaoutis Books, 2017, 14