In 342 BC, in the northern wilds of Ancient Greece, the greatest scientific mind to grace the ancient world collides with the most formidable conqueror history will ever know.

ARISTOTLE is forty-three years old when he accepts an invitation from King Philip II of Macedon to tutor his precocious son, ALEXANDER. The fifteen-year-old heir apparent is to be groomed with the elite intellectual patina his father never had.

Queen OLYMPIAS, Alexander’s fiercely protective mother, attends to the prince’s daily affairs. But the palace houses five of Philip’s wives, all with competing agendas. Treachery, often lethal, is an ongoing threat.

Olympias’ trust is never easily won, even for those with sterling reputations. An educator from Athens—the once-great empire now in decline—could easily harbor devious intentions.

Her paranoia escalates when ISOCRATES, Aristotle’s former mentor turned relentless nemesis, arrives with his razor-sharp skepticism. What good will studying embryology or the motion of the stars do for a future monarch? Aristotle’s “new science” will merely confuse young Alexander, or more nefariously, brainwash him.

Though Alexander enters the relationship with heightened suspicion, he’s soon spellbound by the breadth of questions surrounding him: How do democracies fall apart? What enables tyrants to seize power? Why are women perpetually politically disenfranchised? How can science defend itself against denialism? Both then and now, the debate of how best to rule reveals a chilling thematic conclusion: Democracies are far more fragile than we realize.   

A battle of wits and wills unfolds between these two dynamic personalities, with healthy dosed of tongue-in-cheek humor. As Aristotle endeavors to impart his radical philosophy, Alexander, Olympias, and Isocrates counter with pragmatic doses of Hellenistic realpolitik, raising the question: who exactly is teaching whom?

The rivalry builds between master pedagogue and audacious king-in-the making to a bold climax where alarming new truths with life-and-death consequences are revealed on both sides.

Based on historical events, the play incorporates verbatim text from multiple extant sources. An original score featuring authentic ancient instrumentation accompanies an innovative, immersive video design.