This adaptation of Sophocles’ timeless tragedy is like trying to solve the Sphinx’s riddle all over again—except this time, it’s not just about answering ‘what walks on four legs in the morning?’ but also figuring out how dance and drama can tango together without stepping on each other’s toes.
The story unfolds in Thebes. Oedipus (played by Rami Malek), once hailed as a hero for solving that pesky Sphinx puzzle, now faces his greatest challenge: saving his people from thirst and despair. His wife Jocasta (Indira Varma) urges him to abandon ship for greener pastures but Oedipus decides instead to consult the oracle — a decision that sets him on an irreversible path toward revelation and ruin.
Rami Malek brings an intriguing detachment to Oedipus with his American drawl, which oscillates between captivatingly odd and bewilderingly stiff. Indira Varma shines reliably as Jocasta but their relationship feels rushed due to the production’s emphasis on dance over dramatic dialogue.
Hofesh Shechter’s choreography is powerful; dancers weave through scenes like living sculptures against Tom Visser’s breathtaking lighting design. But these sequences often disrupt the narrative flow rather than enhance it: it feels like flipping between different TV channels where each moment is disjointedly connected.
The set design by Rae Smith suggests desolation with its spare proscenium arches while Visser transforms Thebes into icy cool palace interiors and swelteringly hot exteriors with ease. Yet despite this technically competent design, this reviewer was left unmoved due to insufficient emotional investment in characters’ fates: they’re more silhouettes than fully fleshed-out figures.
This production speaks directly to our times through its exploration of climate change — a theme woven throughout Ella Hickson’s adaptation so tightly it might just make your head spin faster than Tiresias spinning prophecies (played memorably by Cecilia Noble). It also touches upon populism and fanaticism with Tiresias delivering lines so sharp they could cut through any political rhetoric today.
In comparison with Robert Icke’s recent version starring Mark Strong — a sharp political thriller — this production falls short in delivering coherent drama. For those familiar with other works like Hadestown, which integrates music into narrative flow, Oedipus feels less polished; it lacks that certain je ne sais quoi that creates theatre magic.
Sadly, Oedipus at The Old Vic fails to create a cohesive narrative journey. Rami Malek is a bit too wooden. The dancing is weird. The plot is well-known. Sadly, this production just falls a bit short.