(Mark Strong, Lesley Manville in OEDIPUS, Photo by Julieta Cervantes)

by Tim Leininger

NEW YORK – Most modern adaptations of classic plays whether it be Shakespeare, Moliere, Euripides, or whomever, never seem to hit the mark, mostly because these plays weren’t written for the period for which it was adapted. Usually, dialogue ends up anachronistic or props, costumes or whatever don’t fit the language, or just the context of it doesn’t fit the locale of the modern setting. The last one happens a lot when a play is reset in the United States where monarchies have trouble translating to a democratic country. But Robert Icke has done an overall excellent job, rewriting Sophocles’ classic tragedy Oedipus for a modern setting, while still maintaining much of the timbre of the original play. There are a few narrative missteps but two dynamic performances by Mark Strong (A View from the Bridge) and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) forgive what grievances there may be. Oedipus is running on Broadway through Feb. 8, 2026, at Studio 54 at 254 W. 54^th St. in New York City.

            Set in modern day Greece, Icke’s Oedipus functions within a democratic government versus the monarchy of Sophocles’ original. It’s election night and Oedipus (Mark Strong) is showing strong numbers in the exit polls and expects to win. Along side him is his brother-in-law Creon (John Carroll Lynch) who plays a sort of campaign manager position, his wife Jocasta (Lesley Manville) — who also is Creon’s sister — and his three children, Eteocles (Jordan Scowen), Polyneices (James Wilbraham), and Antigone (Olivia Reis). Ismene is not in this version. Also showing up, unexpected, is Oedipus’ mother, Merope (Anne Reid), who, has something of importance to tell him as his father is laid up dying in a hospital. As Creon and Oedipus are preparing to shut up their campaign headquarters, a seer, Teiresias (Samuel Brewer), sneaks in to bestow on Oedipus three prophecies, that he kills his father, he will have sex with his mother, and that Creon will end up ruling and not him.

(The Cast of OEDIPUS, Photo by Julieta Cervantes)

            As a literal ticking clock counts down to the closing of the polls upstage left, Oedipus attempts to address the prophesies, claiming Creon of being duplicitous, and staying away from his mother as much as possible, instead, spending time with his family, especially his wife, Jocasta. Jocasta is the widow of Laius, who was the elected ruler of Greece several decades earlier. But, as Greek tragedies go, prophecies are bound to make themselves known and Oedipus must face the repercussions.

            Icke is very careful as to how he has manipulated the language so that terms like king aren’t used as this is a modern political environment. There is a bit of fudging of how things work, though, as Oedipus is supposed to be successor to Laius, a previous ruler who had died in a car accident, but that was decades earlier. Successors between Laius and Oedipus are not mentioned, and much of the socio-political aspects of Greece in the context of the play are minimized aside from a sect of people from which Teiresias comes from.

            Most of the story is focused on the relationships between Oedipus from smaller sibling rivalries between the two brothers and more importantly the revelations of the death of Laius, Jocasta’s relationship with him, and Merope’s secret that helps confirm answers to questions they all have.

(Mark Strong, Lesley Manville in OEDIPUS, Photo by Julieta Cervantes)

            Icke, who also directs the play, keeps it moving at a brisk pace. Having the countdown clock adds an extra bit of tension to the drama, especially when the cast is moving faster than expected and the clock starts ticking faster to catch up with them. When the play reaches its climax and Jocasta and Oedipus must face each other’s hidden truths, and what it means for her, him, the campaign, and their family’s future, the electricity in the theater becomes laced with anger, suspicion, and erotic tension. Strong and Manville are fantastic as the two combat their suspicions and each other with testimonies of witnesses through their lives break their long-standing beliefs of who they are.

Manville is especially amazing as Jocasta as she recounts the horrors of her youth and her first marriage. Strong’s Oedipus beams with confidence, at least as the play begins, and as the events of the play unfold, his bolstered arrogance loses its foundations, and he begins to crack and crumble with defiant pride.

The performance of both Strong and Manville almost make one gaping plot hole forgivable as the play fails to address Teiresias’ third prophecy, the rise of Creon, which can’t necessarily happen in real time in this version of the play as we’re dealing with a democracy now and not a monarchy. There is a simple solution to this, as there is a video element that is used at the beginning of the play that can easily show future developments, fulfilling the final prophesy, or Creon could have been his running mate. It’s an important plot point and it feels like it was dropped for the visceral visual that the play ends on.

(Mark Strong and the cast of OEDIPUS, Photo by Julieta Cervantes)

Hildegard Bechtler’s scenic design feels very sterile, creating a seeming metaphor of Oedipus’ purity that gets messier as the play goes along. Tom Gibbons’ sound design can be a bit distracting. At one point there was a low-level audio cue playing that sounded more like someone’s phone going off instead of something that’s supposed to build tension.

Icke’s vision for this reimagining of Oedipus has a clear conceived vision and is mostly executed with precision. There are a few narrative quibbles that seem to be avoided when they should have been addressed head-on, but two dynamite performances by Mark Strong and Lesley Manville create an erotically charged drama packed with mystery and tragedy.

OEDIPUS

TICKETS: https://oedipustheplay.com/

PRODUCTION

Created by Robert Icke after Sophocles; Scenic Design: Hildegard Bechtler; Costume Design: Wojciech Dziedzic; Lighting Design: Natasha Chivers; Sound Design: Tom Gibbons; Video Design: Tal Yarden; Broadway Casting Director; Jim Carnahan, CSA, Liz Fraser, CSA; UK Casting Director: Julia Horan, CDG; Dialect Coach: Kate Wilson; Executive Director for Sonia Friedman Productions: Diane Benjamin; UK General Manager for Sonia Friedman Productions: Charlie Bath; US General Manager: WJP, Celina Lam; Company Manager: Chandler Jez; Production Stage Manager: David Lober; Production Manager: Juniper Street Productions; U.S. Associate Director: Joan Sergay; Advertising: AKA; Public Relations: DKC/O&M; Production Counsel: Klaris Doug Nevin; Executive Producer: Zachary Baer

CAST (in alphabetical order)

Teagle F. Bougere as Driver

Samuel Brewer as Teiresias

John Carroll Lynch as Creon

Lesley Manville as Jocasta

Ani Mesa-Perez as Lichas

Bhasker Patel as Corin

Anne Reid as Merope

Olivia Reis as Antigone

Jordan Scowen as Eteocles

Mark Strong as Oedipus

James Wilbraham as Polyneices

Ensemble: Brian Thomas Abraham, Denise Cormier, Karl Kenzler