OEDIPUS

by Sophocles
translation by Stephen Berg & Diskin Clay

directed by Robert Woodruff
original music composed by Evan Ziporyn - listen

May 15 - June 12, 2004
at the Loeb Drama Center

Aristotle regarded Sophocles' tragedy as the masterpiece of Greek drama - an unflinching portrayal of a man's descent from self-assurance and strength to shame and isolation. Though written more than 2,500 years ago, Oedipus still holds the center of Western drama and psychology - a tautly plotted, terrifyingly swift account of human pride and vulnerability that speaks precisely to our own age.

photos - cast - synopsis - related links - support

scenic design by Doug Stein assistant scenic designer Peter Ksander costume design by Kasia Walicka Maimone lighting design by Christopher Akerlind

sound design David Remedios movement by Saar Magal dramaturg Gideon Lester chorus master Pamela Murray stage manager Chris De Camillis

Running time is approximately one hour, forty minutes, with no intermission.

At right: Olivia Beckett Wise, John Campion, Stephanie Roth-Haberle, Eliza Rose Fichter.
Photo: Richard Feldman.

PHOTOS

CAST

SYNOPSIS

Oedipus has unknowingly fulfilled a prophecy issued at his birth by the Delphic oracle, that he would in time kill his father and marry his mother. When the play opens, Oedipus is King of Thebes. The city is suffering a great plague, and Oedipus has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle to seek advice. The oracle reveals that Thebes is being punished for harboring the murderer of Laius, the city's former King. Oedipus determines to find the murderer, and turns to the blind prophet Teiresias for help. Teiresias informs him that he, Oedipus, murdered Laius, and Oedipus flies into a rage.

Jocasta, Oedipus' wife, comforts him, reminding him of reports that Laius was killed by thieves at a crossroads. Her son, she tells him, had been abandoned on a mountainside at birth to thwart the oracle's prediction. But Oedipus remembers that long ago he had indeed slain a man in a brawl at a crossroads.

A messenger arrives with news that the King of Corinth, whom Oedipus believed to be his father, has died. The messenger also reveals that Oedipus was in fact adopted as a child, having been raised by a shepherd. His suspicions aroused, he sends for the shepherd, who confirms that Oedipus was the son of King Laius.

Oedipus realizes that the prophecy has come true, and that he did indeed murder his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. Horrified, he follows Jocasta, who has already rushed into the palace, where she hangs herself. Overcome with grief, Oedipus blinds himself with her golden brooches. Creon is now named King of Thebes. Oedipus asks to be banished and, bidding farewell to his daughters Antigone and Ismene, the blind man leaves the city.

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