Tag Archives: Tal Yarden

Robert Icke’s Oedipus

Broadway, Drama, West End November 14, 2025 Leave a comment

Restrict your liquids and buckle up for the ride.  Robert Icke’s multiple Olivier Award Winning Oedipus has landed on Broadway.  The writer/director phenom transforms the 2500 year old Greek myth to tell the story of Oedipus, a warm and ambitious politician on an election night that should be full of celebration.  Though he is an immigrant whose marriage to the widow of former ruler, Laius, has prompted gossip, his messages of acceptance and affordability have resonated with the voting public.  A landslide victory is all but assured.  Yet his promises to release his birth certificate and to investigate Laius’s death have stirred concerns among those closest to him.  Oedipus’s own uneasiness begins to rise when a futurist cult member, Teiresias, is admitted to campaign headquarters and utters a series of dire warnings.  To ensure the now-set ominous mood remains unbroken, the two-hour political thrill ride has a strict no late seating, no re-admittance policy.

Mark Strong and Lesley Manville in Oedipus; photo by Julieta Cervantes.

On stage for the majority of the running time, Mark Strong manifests a charismatic Oedipus, whose worthy purposefulness has a pronounced shadow side.  His chemistry with the radiant Lesley Manville as Jocasta makes their critical relationship positively pop off the stage.  Jordan Scowen, James Wilbraham and particularly Olivia Reis are terrific as their flawed offspring Eteocles, Polyneices, and Antigone.  (No Ismene exists in this edition.)  Joining the production for the US run is the steady John Carroll Lynch as Creon, Oedipus’s affable campaign manager and brother-in-law. Bhasker Patel brings stateliness to the faithful Corin.  Though his appearance is short, Samuel Brewer makes an affectively disturbing Teiresias.  While it is truth that Merope is supposed to be stressed and guilt-ridden, the usually stellar Anne Reid could use a bit of an energy boost to reach the cheap seats.

As an extension of the election night conceit, the lease is up on Oedipus’s campaign quarters.  This allows for the poetic disassembly of Hildegard Bechtler’s industrial modern set, starting with draining the color out of the space.  To illustrate the initially relaxed state of the characters, costume designer Wojciech Dziedzic has primarily adorned the family members in athleisurewear, with the formal attire set out for the approaching victory.  Tal Yarden’s videos add realism and reminders.  The ticking clock and mood music incorporated in Tom Gibbons’ sound design is aural gilding of the tension lily.  

For those unfamiliar with Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street), there are a few features to keep in mind.  The acoustics are particularly good throughout the space.  Though they get you closest to the action, there is almost no rake in the first dozen rows of the orchestra.  The front mezzanine, with the previous chair back only reaching to ones knees is a strategic alternative. But the steepness of the stairs left some white knuckling the handrail.  

Apologies to Liam Neeson, but it really takes a particular set of skills to tell a story with an ending so infamous it has its own complex and still keep an audience on the edge of their seats.  By tethering the tragedy of Oedipus so beautifully to today, Icke infuses what could be a cold classroom flashback with deep humanity and chilling emotion.  Tickets are being sold for performances through February 8, 2026.  Visit Oedipustheplay.com for details and to purchase tickets.

The Half-God of Rainfall

Off-Broadway, Play August 7, 2023 Leave a comment

At a time when the performing arts are struggling, it is fitting that the wonderful New York Theatre Workshop is hosting a theatrical event that takes much of its inspiration from the early Greeks.  Similar to the dramas of that time, The Half-God of Rainfall combines elements of religious mythology, social commentary, and contemporary politics.

The piece opens with a nod to the ancient tradition of oral storytelling as the players introduce themselves with their real names along with their god-selves.  Working together, the performers weave a tapestry of poetry and dance as they tell the tale of Demi, the product of a particularly violent rape by Zeus: one of many abuses perpetrated by the King of the Gods against human women.  Having won a wager with Sàngó, a fellow god of Thunder, Zeus took as his prize Modúpé, who almost instantly gives birth to a half-god child, Demi.  His despair can make rivers rise and his rage can make it rain.  But his real power manifests on the modern basketball court where every shot is a winner. Despite his many victories, his smoldering rage against his father always burns.

In this realm, the gods of all traditions know one another and many are no better than the mortals over whom they have dominion.  Encompassing so many deeply felt themes occasionally bends the narration out of shape, but the dazzling visuals and all encompassing soundscape keep you enraptured. The audience was invested enough that towards the end they elicited a loud gasp at a critical moment.  While some familiarity with the various pantheons would be helpful, playwright Inua Ellams includes enough background information that the plot can be followed without it.  Even the basketball reference are based on pop culture and never “inside baseball” as it were.

Taibi Magar’s direction is masterful, filling the scene with otherworldly energy enhanced by movement director Orlando Patoboy.  She also incorporates Orisha movement choreographed by Beatrice Capote.  The set by Riccardo Hernández with projections designed by Tal Yarden is in constant motion with swirling images of clouds, water, and the cosmos itself.  The stage continues the natural theme, covered in black sand that moves and lets out a soft crunch beneath the actors’ feet.  The physical experience is expanded with the sound design of Mikaal Sulaiman and lighting designed by Stacey Derosier.  Costume designer Linda Cho builds on basic black towards the shimmering waters of a fertility goddess.

The ensemble moves with fluidity throughout the work, their disparate voices adding variation to the verse.  Mister Fitzgerald gives Demi a radiant joy.  Jennifer Mogbock brings both strength and warmth to Modúpé, her body moving with the combined powers of grace and strength.  Jason Bowen as Sàngó and Patrice Johnson Chevannes as Osún make a fittingly splendid couple under whose protection Modúpé lives.  Kelley Curran’s Hera and Michael Laurence’s Zeus employ unnecessary Greek accents, but the two shine in their other supporting roles.  Only Lizan Mitchell over-modulates, consequently distorting her lines as the trickster Elegba and several other deities. 

Mister Fitzgerald as Demi, The Half-God of Rainfall; photo by Joan Marcus

As many Greek heroes learned, a great adventure often begins by being blown off course.  This production was disrupted by COVID only to wind up in just the right hands.  The result is an ambitious epic that draws a diverse audience much needed by today’s theater world.  Despite its themes, The Half-God of Rainfall is a human-level spectacle born of collaboration and heart.  (There is a trigger warning for a depictions of sexual violence and a use of flashing lights and haze for dramatic effect.)  Performances continue at the New York Theatre Workshop (79 East 4th Street) through August 20 and $65 tickets are available at https://www.nytw.org/show/the-half-god-of-rainfall/.  Runtime is about 90 minutes and mask-only performances are available.  A co-production of NYTW and Harvard’s American Repertory Theater, the show will be moving next to Cambridge, MA in September.