As part of the 22nd Greek Festival of Sydney on Sunday March 28, "Philosophy of Love: Love in the Age of Terror" will incorporate a talk, the performance of an original play and audience participation through discussion.

Dr Edward Spence, who has recently performed his philosophy play as part of the 2004 Adelaide Fringe Festival, said he believes it will be the first time such a play has been held at the Sydney icon.

A lecturer in the CSU School of Communication, Dr Spence is also a member of the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), a joint research body of CSU, Melbourne University and Australian National University.

What is true love? asks Dr Spence in the event which explores the nature of true love from Plato to the present. The performance will be based on key passages from two of Plato’s dialogues and adapted within a contemporary dramatic setting through the play which illustrates the contemporary relevance and significance of Plato’s philosophy to the current understanding of love.

Dr Spence conceived his philosophy plays in 1997 and there has been a series performed each year. “I have presented philosophy plays at arts and cultural festivals in Australia, including the Greek Festival, the Sydney Fringe Festival, and the Adelaide Fringe Festival as well as to university students in the US.” he said. 

The primary objective of the Dr Spence’ play is to make philosophy, especially Western philosophy, more accessible to the general public.

“Basically, a play has four elements: a 20-minute talk by a professional philosopher; a play performed by actors that dramatically illustrates some of the ideas in the philosophical talk; audience discussion of the talk and play; followed by a banquet,” he said.

After the Sydney Opera House performance, the banquet will take place during the Greek Festival of Sydney’s closing party.

The Sydney performance of a Philosophy of Love will also be broadcast on ABC Radio National program "Big Ideas" on Sunday 28 March at 5pm.