Oedipus (Wyndham's Theatre)
Wyndham's Theatre
- Opens: Friday, 4 October 2024 -
Booking until: Saturday, 4 January 2025
Oedipus (Wyndham's Theatre) description
Oedipus at Wyndhams Theatre - Classic brilliance
After his extraordinary Oresteia, Robert Icke, the director who’s been called ‘visionary’, has re-imagined one of the world’s best loved Ancient Greek tragedies. Prepare to be amazed. Oedipus is on stage at Wyndhams Theatre from 4th October 2024 for a strictly limited season.
What's the story behind Oedipus at Wyndhams Theatre ?
Having debuted in Amsterdam in 2019, Icke’s English vision of the classic plot was all set to debut in 2021 with Helen Mirren playing Jocasta. Following successful runs at International Theater Amsterdam and the Edinburgh festival, the signs were excellent. Then came covid and the show stalled.
Now Mirren is otherwise engaged, replaced by the marvellous Lesley Manville. Mark Strong plays the title role, and the rest of the cast will be announced nearer the time. We last saw Mark Strong on stage in 2016 at the National Theatre’s The Red Barn, another exciting Icke production. Lesley Manville has been busy with TV, working on seasons 5 and 6 of The Crown in her role as Princess Margaret.
Robert Icke’s recent productions include Judas, Children of Nora, and the production of Oedipus we mentioned at the International Theater Amsterdam, where he was Ibsen Artist in Residence until 2023. His adaptation of Animal Farm delighted the UK on tour in 2022 and his powerful condensed monologue version of Enemy of the People helped revive the New York theatre scene after the shutdown. He’ll be on the Oedipus case after directing Ian McKellen in Player Kings at the Noël Coward Theatre ‘til June, another one not to miss.
About Oedipus at Wyndhams Theatre
Oedipus was a mythical king, the ruler of the mighty city of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology and the inspiration of Sophocles’ character, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy saying he’d murder his own father and marry his mother. The results are a disaster, both to the city he loves and his family.
This is a story for every decade and every century. The scene is election night, the eve of a probable landslide victory and right on the knife-edge of change. Icke creates a particularly powerful version of Sophocles’ epic tragedy to present a totally contemporary thriller.
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Starring
Lesley Manville, Mark Strong
