Oedipus The King By Sophocles
Broken Gears' Oedipus Update Still Chilling
, A faithful sounding, yet fresh adaptation of Sophocles’ play about, among other things, the quest for self-knowledge, of free will, ‘Fate,’ and of the tenuous nature of good fortune. Young has crafted a complete and exciting vision that almost, but not quite finds its perfect mark. The look of the play (with sets by Jeffrey Franks) is balanced, symmetrical, and formalized, perhaps to remind us of its classical roots. However, the pace is a tad lugubrious in the second half. If they could tighten up some of that timing they could really add to what is already an amazing spectacle that’s not just for the classical literature set.The familiar story concerns the titular king’s attempts to alleviate the plague in Thebes caused by the unsolved murder of the former king, Laius. Unbeknownst to Oedipus (David Jeremiah, recently in a harrowing performance in Rite of Passage’s Technically Related ), Laius was his father, and he the murderer, not to mention husband of the widowed queen, Jocasta (Lulu Ward) who is also the new king’s mother.
As titillating and dreadful as all of that sounds, the play is not about the action of Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother; that has already happened by the play’s start. Rather, Sophocles sets his play around the horrific realization of those deeds, masterfully creating dramatic irony by allowing the audience possession of facts hidden from the protagonists, stirring up uncomfortable questions with even more uncomfortable answers. All of this turns on the paradoxical “man of havoc,” Oedipus, who is both blessed and cursed.
Franks utilizes a thrust performance area with a stylized painted floor, marble-type riser with a business throne, and projected images on a screen in the back for full near-futuristic effect. Jeremiah plays the Theban king with a sturdy presence and a sonorous voice, which he uses as a precise instrument of great variation – from a commanding whisper to a troubled growl. His eventual descent into terrible grief and madness is a visceral, and arresting feat. Ward’s Jocasta is queenly in a sultry Lady Macbeth manner, simmering and dripping with every move and loaded speech.
The rest of the cast delivers stalwart, well-directed performances of their roles. Of special note though is Tiresias (Joel Frapart), the blind seer of Apollo who holds the awful truths of the play. Frapart plays him like a mad, wheelchair-bound homeless man with a scratchy voice – something like Tom Waits as a reluctant prophet.
Oedipus The King By Sophocles - News
Steven Young directs Oedipus the King, a faithful sounding, yet fresh adaptation of Sophocles' play about, among other things, the quest for self-knowledge, of free will, 'Fate,' and of the tenuous nature of good fortune. Young has crafted a complete
Despite some rough edges, "Oedipus the King" retains the edge of the original story, while taking a new stance on the issues presented by Sophocles. When Oedipus emerges from gouging his eyes out on the stage, it is gruesome and heartbreaking to watch
Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are has been changed to Skipping Dinner Is Like Dropping Acid; Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is retitled Rent Was Too Damn High! and Oedipus the King by Sophocles becomes How I Met Your Mother.
Directed by SUNY Cortland Professor of Performing Arts Thomas Hischak, "Oedipus the King" will be presented in a new prose adaptation by Hischak that follows the script of Sophocles' classic drama. The play tells the story of the proud-willed Oedipus,
Sophocles in his plays repeatedly shows the consequences of overreaching, of excessive confidence in human power, ingenuity, self-righteousness and reason. Oedipus the king believes he can do anything, solve any riddle or crime;
Heritage Press: Oedipus the King by Sophocles (1956) « The Limited ...
I ADORE the cover of this book. It’s so classy and bold – the black and silver and browns go so well together. I knew I had to have this the moment I saw it. Anyway, there’s an incredible story that goes along with the creation of this book, one that may be more appropriate to allow the Director of the Heritage Press, which could have been George (he passed away in 1956, while the LEC edition came out the year before) or Helen, explain it to you through the Sandglass below. I’ll sum it up here: Oedipus the King was originally announced for the Limited Editions Club in April, 1940. This was going to join their “Booklover’s Tour of the World” plan that they had going at the time, with the book to be printed and illustrated in Greece to truly showcase its cultural style. The following month, Nazi Germany began their invasion of France, which led to Paris being taken in June. In the chaos that ensued, the Club lost contact with their printer, Kiron Theodoropoulos and their illustrator, Demetrios Galanis. The Club had seen Galanis’ work in print form before the war kicked off, so they knew the work had been completed, but alas, it would be quite some time before the LEC were able to recontact their Greek collaborators. Luckily, both men were alive following the war’s aftermath, but the book was in dire straits. Over the war’s duration, vandals broke into Theodoropoulos’ press, the Pyrsos Press, and had destroyed the pages of type prepared for the book. The engravings were still intact, but their condition was no longer satisfactory. The Club wanted to see for themselves, and the American Embassy in Athens had become involved, sending an interested party to the Press to retrieve and ship the engravings to the Club. This occurred in 1953. Once in their hands, the engravings were deemed printable. The Club then decided that their lofty aborted plan of “The Booklover’s Tour of the World” was no longer limiting the book to be printed in Greece, so they turned to Jan van Krimpen in the Netherlands to design the book based on Galanis’ initial plans to have the Greek on one side and the English on the other. I’ll dive into van Krimpen’s story in a bit – let’s focus on the binding now. The boards are covered in black buckram, the text stamped in with silver leaf which were drawn by van Krimpen for this cover, and Galanis’ engraving was stamped in with white leaf and terra-cotta leaf.
Oedipus The King By Sophocles - Bookshelf
Oedipus the king
CEDIPUS THE KING. CEdipus. O latest born of ancient Cadmus' race, My Theban children, with what suppliance Thus throng ye to my presence, bearing high The ...Oedipus the King
Each volume in a collection of affordable, readable editions of some of the world's greatest works of literature features a chronology of the author's life and ...Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King)
The first drama in the Oedipus Trilogy, "Oedipus Rex", is the tragic tale of Oedipus who has accidentally killed his father and married his mother.Oedipus, The King
Antigone ; Oedipus the King ; Electra
Contains three of Sophocles' most famous tragedies. Includes introduction, textual note, chronology, and explanatory notes.Everyday Articles Directory
Oedipus the King - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oedipus the King (ancient Greek Οἰδίπους Τύραννος (Oidipous Tyrannos, ... Oedipus is enraged by Tiresias's refusal, and says the prophet must be complicit in the ...
The Internet Classics Archive | Oedipus the King by Sophocles
<!--quoteTitle> by Sophocles, part of the Internet Classics Archive ... Commentary: Quite a few comments have been posted about Oedipus the King. ...
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Study guide for the play.
Sophocles' Oedipus the King
Learn about Sophocles' Oedipus the King using this exceptional online study guide with links to multiple resources on CTCWeb.
Sophocles, Oedipus the King (e-text)
The asterisks indicate links to explanatory notes inserted by the translator. ... Oedipus, a stranger to Thebes, became king of the city after the ...