Louise Morfitt Hall says:

True the production had some folly but all in all, was an avant garde interpretation. Dare I say it ? Edge of your seat entertainment but to bring the crowds. Towards the end of the play some of the entertainment source was from audience reaction. Still, I would recommend it.

Louise Novis says:

July 9, 2015 at 8:17 pm

This production was a huge disappointment. The tragedy was brought to the audience as a shouting match: no modulation, no nuance. The heroic qualities that should make the audience feel pity for a great hero brought so low were completely missing because of the constantly overwraught acting of Oedipus. The chorus, an integral voice of the people was MIA, the lines being spoken, or shouted, by individual actors. The choral voices should represent the people of Thebes, both begging Oedipus to save them, and by providing the audience with beautiful passages between the episodes. Othere characters fared little better: Creon also showed no qualities other than being extremely angry and extremely angry. Jocasta fared a little better. Tireias’ sardonic air was interesting, but I was too focused on praying he didn’t fall off his heels, a silly distraction. The poor daughters obviously need years of psychiatirc therapy.

Neil Hawkins says:

July 3, 2015 at 7:17 am

Oedipus Rex — Sophocles’ great Greek tragedy, written almost 2000 years before Shakespeare worked, was a terrific addition to this Stratford season. Staged very creatively on the Tom Patterson thrust stage, it was a very disturbing evening. But that is what great theatre is all about. Reaching into your gut and grabbing your emotions, and making you think. I had never seen this staged but knew many parts of the story. But unraveling this tale around the plague destroying Thebes and their prayerful relationship with the Gods of their day, was extremely effective as a driving backdrop to the tragic story unfolding before us. Gord Rand crafted and delivered an amazing performance as Oedipus. Wow.

Daniel Bratton says:

July 1, 2015 at 11:33 pm

Agree with Geoffrey Eden. Nigel Bennett was superb as Teiresias, but the production was extremely uneven. What I couldn’t reconcile was the chorus, with a Huey Long-like demagogue and late twentieth century/early twentieth-first century American political feeling to it, and the char woman, whose accent my English wife believed to be German, but which I felt to be something out of Sean O’Casey or John Millington Synge. Just when 2,000+ years of tragedy seemed to be bridged by an overarching awareness of cosmic senselessness, environmental degradation, and hegemonic stupidity, the audience was suddenly confronted by this lady with a scrub bucket: was this some sort of Brechtian alienation technique? If so, it certainly backfired, wiping out any feeling of universal, archetypal tragedy and painfully reminding the audience that this was, after all, a contemporary production that wanted to “update” Sophocles, though to what end one wasn’t sure. Daniel Brooks’ interpretation of the play has some memorable moments, and the lighting and special effects are first-rate, but just when one is being overwhelmed by a profound sense of existential absurdity, the catharsis is undercut by a confusing infusion of postmodern parody. Still, Nigel Bennett’s Teiresias, where Bruce Jenner meets Buddhism’s Kannon, is stunningly theatrical, and certainly worth the price of admission in itself.

Geoffrey Eden says:

July 1, 2015 at 5:02 pm

So uneven. So great – Tiresias, Jocasta, Creon; so underused – the chorus, the stage; so bad – Oedipus. There isn’t room for a little “nudge-nudge”, “look I’m Jerry Seinfeld”, and seriousness in the play. And the char woman should not make me hum the theme song from Carol Burnett.

The Globe and Mail - J. Kelly Nestruck

Stratford’s powerful Oedipus Rex

“Daniel Brooks’s production at Stratford starring Gord Rand wrings the full emotional power from this ancient play…Rand’s Oedipus is surrounded by strong performances – a brilliant, touching Christopher Morris as brother-in-law Kreon and a gleefully greasy Kevin Bundy as a money-seeking messenger.”

Read Full Review07/24/2015

The Bard and the Boards - Robyn Godfrey

Stratford's Oedipus Rex: Great...

“There is much to praise in this production but much that is puzzling…Something to praise is Nigel Bennett channeling Terence Stamp in drag as the blind seer Teiresias.”

Read Full Review07/20/2015

James Wegg Review - James Wegg

Blind and alone

“Daniel Brooks soon lost his way in the—perhaps—most famous destruction of a human soul ever…As heroic and courageous as Rand’s performance was, the inadvertent juxtaposition of modern-era child abuse on a timeless classic, left some in the crowd feeling more soiled than uplifted as we disappeared into the night.”

Read Full Review07/18/2015

Stratford Beacon Herald - Bruce Urquhart

Stratford's Festival's Oedipus Rex...

“A challenging production – and one that does not shy from the darkness of its tragedy – “Oedipus Rex” thrills with its immediacy and vitality, bolstered by a captivating central performance that ranks with the best of this season….Rand is heartbreaking…convincing in his anguish and his terrible compulsion. When the truth is finally revealed, Rand’s emotionally naked performance is shattering…”

Read Full Review07/17/2015

The Toronto Star - Carly Maga

Sharp moments but also laughs in...

“Throughout the highs and lows and the bloody finale, Morris, Nigel Bennett as the eccentric prophet Teiresias and young Amelia Phillips as Ismene steal the show.”

Read Full Review07/17/2015

The Examiner - Christina Strynatka

Stratford Festival's Oedipus Rex uneven

“With all the unevenness, Nigel Bennett as Teiresias was a show-stopper, appearing on stage in heels, painted nails and a shawl, and speaking a slithery tongue that was sharper than any of the louder tones used during the play. It’s just too bad he wasn’t given a larger role so the audience could see more of his depth and quiet power.”

Read Full Review07/17/2015