Oedipus

Oedipus

 "Oedipus" was originally written by Sophocles and here it is brought into the modern by Robert Icke in both the direction as well as the writing.

 What will be a strong Tony contender, "Oedipus" is very good on many levels. The play gives many underlying tones to it; the set keeps getting smaller and smaller to signify perhaps that Oedipus (Mark Strong) world is shrinking. He loves his wife Jocasta (Lesley Manville), his children; he believes that a good change will be coming.

 As the show begins with projection (Tal Yardin), we see Oedipus making a political speech. It is the night of the election and he waits at campaign headquarters for the results with his family and campaign team. 

 Robert Icke does a great job in bringing this story into the modern. He also directs this play in an edgy way; the music is soft in the background (Tom Gibbons) and it plays throughout the show. In the two hour intermission less play at Studio 54, Strong and Manville command the stage as do all the other actors.

 As he navigates the world in front of him Oedipus does not trust to many people around him. He is quick to call people out when he feels that he is being lied to; when he is being disrespected. He has been abandoned at birth and he has issues with trust. His abandonment percolates over the two hour period. As the play climaxes, Oedipus is at full boil about his loss, his not being wanted by his mother.The scenic design is creative to say the least (Hildegard Bechtler). The set has all the trimmings of a campaign headquarters re-pleat with computers in the back of the stage; an efficient office building that is both economical and expansive. 

 The costumes (Wojciech Dziedzic) too are in the modern. Both the suits and the casual wear are sharp to the audiences eye. They are never overbearing but never to understated either.What makes "Oedipus" a really good show is that the dialogue is always interesting. Icke covers a lot of the characters personalities in the two hour period. From his brother-in-law to his children, the people in this show become interesting to us. We can rationalize each character, we get a full understanding of their lives. How Oedipus relates to his wife and children is a man who wants to love and be loved. His abandonment issues help him be close to the people that matter.The attack and counter attack between the mother (Anne Reid) and Manville too bring tension between Strong, his wife and his mother. Merope does not like Jocasta and it is evident. She considers his wife "not blood". Does she know something we don't? Or is she overly protective of an already shattered man who lost his family at birth. 

 The question here as well is what does his wife know about him? Is she in the know as to what really happened to Oedipus at birth? These questions, especially if you read Sophicles play, are intriguing to us as we see Icke unfold the play.What is best about this show is we get to watch the adaptation by Icke. We get to sit back and watch a classic play unfold in today's times. We anticipate how it will play out. How it will conclude. The way the people are reduced, the way their pride is shattered in the end is heavy, the way dramas should be. In the Sophocles book the climax is hard hitting. Here, in this version, the climax hits you like a sledge hammer!

My thoughts are that when Tony nominations come out, "Oedipus" will have many nominations as it is very well done by all accounts.

#Broadway Bob, No Bull With Raging Robert, Mark Strong, Sopicles, Broadway, Tony Awards.