TEHRAN – Tehran Theater is hosting a stage adaptation of Woody Allen’s short story “My Apology” at its Medea Hall.

Morteza Mohammadian has directed the play and also performs in it along with Shahin Amraei, Mana Nasseri, Farhad Joudaki, Amirreza Jahani, Alireza Nazemzadeh, and Saman Mohammadian, Honaronline reported.

Originally published in 2010, “My Apology” is Allen's tale of a recurring fantasy/dream of his where he imagines himself in the sandals of Socrates during the philosopher's final days in prison.

Allen recounts a recurring dream that casts himself as one of history's greatest thinkers: the imprisoned and condemned philosopher Socrates. In the face of execution, Allen's version of Socrates is prepared for an ironic death, if not a noble one.

Socrates (470 - 399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought.

An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre.

Socrates was a polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. After a trial that lasted a day, he was sentenced to death. He spent his last day in prison, refusing offers to help him escape.

Plato's dialogues are among the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. They demonstrate the Socratic approach to areas of philosophy, including epistemology and ethics.

Socrates is known for proclaiming his total ignorance; he used to say that the only thing he was aware of was his ignorance, seeking to imply that the realization of one's ignorance is the first step in philosophizing.

Socrates exerted a strong influence on philosophers in later antiquity and has continued to do so in the modern era. He was studied by medieval and Islamic scholars and played an important role in the thought of the Italian Renaissance, particularly within the humanist movement. Depictions of Socrates in art, literature, and popular culture have made him a widely known figure in the Western philosophical tradition.

Woody Allen, 89, is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans eight decades. Allen has received many accolades, including the most nominations (16) for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for an Emmy Award and a Tony Award.

His large body of work mixes satire, wit, and humor in the most respected and prolific cerebral style in the modern era. For inspiration, Allen draws heavily on literature, philosophy, psychology, European cinema, and the city of New York, where he lives. He explored the neuroses of the urban middle class in comedies of manners, such as “Annie Hall” (1977) and “Deconstructing Harry” (1997).

SS/SAB