Ella Hickson’s adaptation of Oedipus aims for timeless but ends up closer to aimless at the Old Vic
“Bring in a raving hermit, that’ll do it”
There’s never really a moment when the ancient Greeks aren’t in vogue but they’re really having a moment right now. Ella Hickson’s adaptation of Oedipus starring Rami Malek follows fast on the heels on Robert Icke’s incendiary version in the West End which closed last month and can’t even claim to be the only Greek tragedy led by an Academy Award-winning actor in town, as Elektra with Brie Larson is also opening right now. Plus Hadestown is still rocking, the Park Theatre is reimagining Antigone…zíto i ellinikí tragodía.
Fortunately, such a proliferation of productions also brings with it a wide variety of interpretations – a significant part of the enduring success of Greek tragedies. Daniel Fish’s Elektra explores a punk-inspired energy, Icke situated his work in the world of contemporary politics and at the Old Vic, co-directors Matthew Warchus and Hofesh Shechter have infused this Oedipus in the arts, dance playing a huge part in this otherwise stripped back but still visually arresting take on Sophocles’ play.

Stylistically, it is hard not to be impressed. Tom Visser’s lighting design is a masterclass in breathtakingly striking work as it gives us a sunburnt drought-ridden Thebes, slowly darkened by the turn of events. The whirling physicality of Shechter’s choreography has undeniable presence in its blend of old and new, but as the dancers essentially replace the role of the chorus, there’s an awful lot of them and not always with seemingly obvious intent which unfairly dilutes the excellent performance quality they exude.
Dramatically, it feels a little thin too, Rami Malek’s atypical leader feels misplaced – perhaps deliberately so – a strangeness to his character that never really settles, whether raging against the climate change crisis or seizing with rabid determination on the Oracle’s prophecy even as the unpalatable truths it uncovers shatter his world. I found little connection here, not really helped by the vaguenesses of Hickson’s adaptation which aims for timeless but ends up closer to aimless.

Indira Varma delivers the kind of reliably excellent performance we’ve come to expect from her but she’s cut a little adrift by the challenges of trying to build a connection with Malek’s isolationist work. It’s always good to see Cecilia Noble though, having a ball as a cackling Tiresias, and Nicholas Khan and Joseph Mydell register strongly as Creon and Corinthian respectively. Ultimately, it is hard to see what this Oedipus is trying to say but fortunately, in this theatre economy, you most likely won’t have to wait long for another one to come along and try it in a different way.