Sophocles

Oedipus the King


Studio Performance in the Main Hall
1 hour and 10 minutes.

Oedipus
József Bíró
 
Jocasta
Imola Kézdi/Hilda Péter
 
Creon
Lehel Salat
 
Teiresias
András Hatházi, Sinkó Ferenc
 
Messenger
Attila Orbán
 
Shepherd
Ernő Galló
 
Sphinx
Tünde Skovrán
 
Chorus
Szabolcs Balla, Alpár Fogarasi, Róbert Laczkó Vass, Ervin Szűcs

directed by
Mihai Măniuţiu
 
dramaturg
András Visky
 
set and costume design
Cristian Rusu
 
director's assistant
Levente Borsos
 
stage manager
Levente Borsos
 
prompter
Imola Kerezsy

Date of the opening: April 02, 2006

The text version of András Visky is based on the translations of Mihály Babits, János Csengeri and Gergely Csíki
A contagious disease devastates Thebe, and this desperate present arises from the past. Why did the Gods send this deadly doom upon the city? The Chorus hopes to get answers from their king, Oedipus, who is worshiped for having saving the city a long time ago. Creon receives the prophecy that all the misfortune is happening due to the presence of the man who once murdered their former king, Laios. Oedipus curses the criminal and commands him to be captured.
The only one clear-sighted is the blind Teiresias. His smart answer is an accusation against the king: the murderer he is searching for, and had cursed is he himself, living in an incestuous relationship with his own mother. Finding the murderer is at the same time a search for Oedipus’s real identity. The meeting with the only eye-witness alive, the Shepherd, could bring salvation or fall. His doubts seem to vanish when the Messenger arrives with the news of Polybus’s – Oedipus’s supposed father’s – death. The king now believes that he did not kill his father, but the thought of incest keeps haunting him. To reassure him, the Messenger reveals that Oedipus is not Polybus’s and Merope’s son by blood. Jocasta begs her husband to give up the investigation.
The mysterious presence of the Sphinx is a constant reminder: Oedipus was able to solve its mystery, but his wisdom left him when he had to face himself. The Shepard is at first unwilling to reveal the truth, but after being forced to confess, the king of Thebe tumbles down immediately. Unknowingly, Oedipus has fallen into the most horrifying sin: he killed his father and wed his mother. His punishment is to being blinded by his own hands and he leaves his throne as a blind beggar.
Opening date: April 2, 2006.
Running time: 1 hour and 10 minutes.