LONDON (AP) 鈥 Who are you?
That most basic question perplexes people, just as it did when Greek dramatist Sophocles wrote about the cursed king Oedipus two and a half millennia ago.
Screen stars Mark Strong and Lesley Manville return to the London stage in director Robert Icke鈥檚 adaptation, 鈥淥edipus,鈥 which fuses the primal power of the ancient tragedy with a modern-day political thriller. It wants anyone who thought identity politics was a new concern to think again.
You鈥檇 think there would be no surprises in the story of a ruler who 鈥 2,500-year-old spoiler alert 鈥 unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. But on this week's opening night there were gasps from some in the audience at Wyndham鈥檚 Theatre as the truth dawned.
鈥淚 heard gasping, I heard laughter, and I could hear a pin drop,鈥 Strong told The Associated Press. 鈥淲e had a little bit of everything, which is perfect.鈥
Icke sets the action in a campaign headquarters on election night. Strong鈥檚 Oedipus is a charismatic outsider politician on the verge of a historic victory, while Manville is his wife and political partner Jocasta. Audience members may hear echoes of the Clintons, or French President Emmanuel Macron and his older spouse Brigitte. When Oedipus pledges to release his birth certificate to quell rumors about his origins, it evokes 鈥渂irther鈥 conspiracies about Barack Obama.
It turns out to be a rash promise, unraveling a secret about Oedipus鈥 origins that destroys his sense of identity, his family and his life. In this play, secrets may fester, but the truth is deadly.
Strong said Oedipus鈥 tragic flaw is what another character calls his 鈥渉onesty fetish.鈥
鈥淗e is obsessed with the truth,鈥 Strong said. 鈥淚f he wasn鈥檛 such a seeker after the truth, none of the problems would happen.鈥
The production, which runs until Jan. 4, has drawn positive-to-glowing reviews. The Guardian called it 鈥渞iveting from beginning to end,鈥 while The Independent said Icke 鈥渁chieves the monumental feat of taking a Greek drama where (almost) everyone thinks they know what鈥檚 going to happen, and turning it into an exercise in tension.鈥
Icke, 37, is one of Britain鈥檚 hottest directors, acclaimed for reinvigorating the classics in productions including another ancient Greek tragedy, 鈥淥resteia,鈥 and the Shakespeare adaptation 鈥淧layer Kings,鈥 starring . McKellen, 85, left the play after he and was hospitalized in June, but says he hopes to return to the role of Falstaff.
Icke first staged 鈥淥edipus,鈥 in Dutch, in Amsterdam in 2018. The pandemic-delayed English production, originally scheduled to open in 2020, reunites Strong and Manville, who both appear in the recently released alongside McKellen.
Both are returning to the stage amid busy screen careers. Strong has recently performed in science fiction action pic 鈥淎tlas鈥 with J-Lo, sci-fi prequel 鈥淒une-Prophecy鈥 and HBO鈥檚 Batman spinoff 鈥淭he Penguin.鈥
Manville, who received an Oscar nomination in 2018 for couture drama 鈥淭he Phantom Thread鈥 and an Emmy nomination as Princess Margaret in two seasons of the royal drama has had recent roles in Luca Guadagnino鈥檚 Venice Film Festival entry 鈥淨ueer,鈥 the Alfonso Cuaron-directed TV+ series 鈥淒isclaimer鈥 and the BBC crime thriller 鈥淪herwood.鈥
The two actors have smoldering stage chemistry as a couple who are a formidable political force, and in touching family scenes that both leaven and deepen the horror to come, loving parents.
鈥淲e鈥檙e dealing with a love story, really 鈥 the most tragic of love stories,鈥 Manville said. 鈥淏ecause these two people are great together.鈥
She says Icke combines emotional intelligence with a forensic understanding of the play.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 say, 鈥極h, all of this is two and a half thousand years ago.鈥 We鈥檙e the same beating hearts, got the same blood running through our veins.鈥
The play has a new resonance in the age of ancestral DNA tests, when anyone can submit a saliva sample and learn about their origins.
鈥淓verybody wants to know where their place is in the world and who they are,鈥 Strong said. 鈥淢aybe I鈥檓 a Viking. Who knows?鈥
It can be risky 鈥 sometimes people learn things about their origins that transform their sense of self.
Although, Strong reflected, 鈥渋f Oedipus had the ability to do that, it could have solved a lot of problems.鈥
