by James Yaffe

Metro Theatre
Vancouver, BC
2018

After a long tenure as professor of philosophy at a small western college, Henry Lowenthal is looking forward to being appointed to an endowed chair so that he and his wife can enjoy their golden years with honour and dignity. But their plans are given a rude jolt when his successor, a vindictive and ruthlessly ambitious younger woman, informs him that she is not recommending him for the chair. The usually gentle professor reacts to such calculated cruelty by seizing a bust of Socrates and striking his tormentor a fatal blow. While Henry and his wife plot to dispose of the body, a sinister young student who is about to flunk out of school threatens to reveal Henry unless his grade is changed. Add in a suspicious police lieutenant and you have a series of suspenseful, unexpected and frequently funny developments, leading to a denouement that will catch everyone by surprise.