Oedipus re-imagined as tense political thriller starring Lesley Manville and Mark Strong – review
Writer and director Robert Icke returns to the West End with Oedipus – a well-known Greek tragedy, of course, but one that has been re-imagined as a tense, modern political thriller.
We meet our titular protagonist (played by Mark Strong) on election night while he is awaiting the election results at campaign HQ; he is joined by his wife Jocasta (Lesley Manville), his family and their staff, as they wait to find out whether Oedipus has been elected leader.
A timer ticks ominously down towards zero in the background throughout the play. We were on the edge of our seats throughout – this is an incredibly tense show (one act, no interval, just shy of two hours).
The timer is a great gimmick – our minds were racing to figure out exactly what would be revealed when it hit zero. The pacing is excellent, the suspense is relentless: it makes for an intense, but brilliant, watch.
