Socrates and His Clouds - (Oberon Modern Plays) by William Lyons (Paperback)

About the Book

A funny, naughty, vital exploration of the ways in which education and morality define a society in crisis.

Book Synopsis

Strepsiades lives in Greece. He has debt. A lot of debt. And that's because his son, Phiddy, has a penchant for betting and isn't so keen on working. At a loss, Streps has an idea: Phiddy can go to Socrates' Academy and learn how to talk himself out of trouble Job done What could possibly go wrong?

Socrates and His Clouds, inspired by Aristophanes' Clouds and Plato's Dialogues, is a serio-comic drama about the fragility of morality, the hazards of education and the burdens of being a teacher.

Review Quotes

"Forget the hemlock. Socrates is alive and well and coming to a cloud near you.... Five Stars and Cloud Nine!" - Gyles Brandreth

"The script manages to combine the feel of a, at times, self-referential Greek play with an accessible modern style. ****" - West End Frame

"This is a very accomplished and compact play filled with references from the ancient Greek tradition yet with a very modern outlook. ****" - Public Reviews

"William Lyons's Socrates and His Clouds offers a fresh new exploration of moral and philosophical questions. Set in Athens and with a looming Greek chorus of three harmonising women, the play is highly reminiscent of classic Greek theatre with more than a few modern twists. This unique envisioning is sure to delight fans of ancient Greek storytelling...the philosophical debates that arise throughout Lyons' play are successfully thought provoking." - A Younger Theatre

About the Author

William Lyons: William Lyons is a playwright who has spent much of his life as a student or teacher of philosophy in many countries. He is interested in 'theatre of thought' or drama that brings challenging ideas to the stage. His play Wittgenstein - The Crooked Roads won the START Chapbooks Award 2005 and was presented at Riverside Studios in London in 2011. Its companion piece, The Fir Tree and the Ivy, won the Eamon Keane Full Length Play Award in 2006 and has been translated into Italian as L'Edera e l'Abete.