The Old Vic buzzed with excitement, as audience gathered to watch the Saturday afternoon show of Oedipus, with the celebrity star cast including Rami Malek as Oedipus and Indira Varma as Jocasta. The story of Oedipus is known to many – not just as what Sophocles wrote about a cursed royal family in Greek city of Thebes to establish three emergent branches of the Greek philosophy in the mid 5th century BCE but many as Sigmund Freud’s psychological explanation that developed in 1899 about the infamous subconscious sexual complex present in every child.
The Greek mythological story of Oedipus was the King of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. Homer said Oedipus’ wife and mother Jacosta killed herself by hanging, while Oedipus continued to rule, while some said he blinded himself and lived in exile in Athens. He was eventually swallowed by Earth and he became a guardian hero of the land.
Ella Hickson has proved herself as a brilliant dramatist trough Oedipus, who can tell or adapt the story of a mythological past in a relatable stage of the present- the lack of rain and drinkable water in a land, a glimpse of the current climate crisis engulfing the world, as dancers usher in the rain almost in a hymnic trance.
It reminded me of a scene from the critically acclaimed film Guide, where Raju, played by the famous actor Dev Anand, who resembled Hollywood actor Gregory Peck, gets trapped by villagers’ belief to end a drought. He sacrifices 12 days of his defeated and loveless life in fasting, ultimately dying to bring the land its promised water.
Oedipus similarly trapped in the prophecy of an oracle, publicly announced to bring justice by punishing the murderer of King Laius, to end a drought in Thebes, that tormented the lives of his subjects. What followed was a tragedy, that left him blind, tearing his beautiful family and heroic life that he built, apart.
The actors in the scenes are in relatable modern linen clothes- bringing together a multitude of culture in a clever depiction of the thousands of years old tragedy. Nothing can beat Indira Varma’s strength in act of desperation as a woman, brave yet broken, looking to save her own first, a wife, mother and queen split between tragedies of her life into the hands of her own kings, winning and losing repeatedly, as justice eludes her. She overshadows even Oscar winning Malek’s angular movements perhaps to imitate Oedipus’ bad foot, a certain stoniness on his face, with glassy eyes, awkward pauses between words – strange yet transfixing as he glided through the stage like a white shadow- not a moment he was not the star that he has achieved to be!
The energetic dancers in the light and shadow of the stage production, brought in a new angle to the storytelling through Hofesh Schechter’s co-direction, choreography and music, they offered the audience a respite and a new way to perceive and pursue information.
A brilliant play, posing the age-old tragic question making you think hard – “is ignorance truly bliss?”
A must watch. Oedipus at The Old Vic till 29 March 2025.
Star ratings (out of five): *****
