Oedipus w/Mark Strong & Lesley Manville - Wyndham’s

Mesmerising indeed. An Oedipus for our times... times when the appallingness of the realisation of what Oedipus and Jocasta go through and their reactions will be treated by some with a giggle, a smutty comment and a furtive Google search for "incest" movies.

Although the link with Sophocles is at times tenuous this is a coherent, well-written, well directed and superbly acted work - Strong and Manville are a tour de force (or tours des forces) and their acting is believable throughout, whatever their relationship happens to be at the time.

Oh wow, didn’t realise this had started already, I shall get myself along there to see it! Glad to hear good reports

Thought this was pretty middling. It certainly doesn’t help that it’s a fundamentally silly play — overreliant on coincidences and with characters that don’t make any choices, stripping the play of any stakes. But the production doesn’t do itself any favours. Given that everyone knows the story and ending, a modern production can’t rely on the big reveal as a reveal at all: you’ve got to fundamentally rework the play to embrace the audience’s knowledge, really leaning into it and finding the tension somewhere else. This production does that to an extent, making constant knowing jokes about parents/children/sex, but it doesn’t fully commit. So you’re left with a play where the central conceit doesn’t work, but nothing else has been offered to fill its place.

Strong and Manville were fine, but not particularly impressive IMO; Strong flubbed a few lines too (though it’s previews, so fair enough). I saw Icke’s Dutch production of this a few years ago so couldn’t help but compare; I thought Kesting was a better actor but Strong is probably better suited for the part. Overall this was better than the Dutch version but still not great. 2.5 or 3*

Actually, I take back the bit about the reveal not working just in modern productions — it would also have been known to ancient audiences. But it does mean the play only works if 
as that's the whole crux and tension of the play. Without that, I'm not sure what you're left with.

Pretty sure both of them were only ever supposed to be temporarily affiliated — it was a residency-type arrangement IIRC. Icke’s last production there was in 2022 and Stone’s in 2020.

Some front row seats became available for late Oct - early Nov if anyone is interested.

Hmmm.

You actually supplied perfect evidence with your post.

As always, all you have to do is read between the lines.

Gosh, that's odd --- if it were a Jamie Lloyd production, the action would then have continued out on the street.

Can someone check in on Arifa Akbar - *****