Oedipus at Colonus
#aftersophocles
Currently this archive is under construction. Not all the materials have been published, and over the next few months resources will continue to be added.
So be certain to keep checking in as this archive expands to reflect the full rehearsal process.
About
This is a play about time, aging, and dying. It was written by Sophocles at the end of his life when he was an old man facing his own death. It is the third play in the so-called Theban cycle, the first being Oedipus Rex, the second being Antigone and this being the third. However, in terms of the chronology of the Theban narrative, the action of the play precedes the action of Antigone.
It is also a play about the land and belonging to the land, or more precisely, a desperate desire to belong to the land. In this way the play, written in the 5th century BC, has immense relevance for our contemporary postcolonial, post-apartheid context in which issues of land hunger, of dispossession, of occupations and removals, continue to plague our society so many years after the advent of democracy.
It is also a play about the limits of redemption and forgiveness. It poses a question as to whether the wrongs of the past can ever really be forgiven. Is there a possibility for penance? Is Oedipus’ tearing out of his eyes enough? At one point in the play the chorus pronounce: “There may be healing of past wrongs but no undoing them”. Can the polluted figure from the past ever be accepted in the present and what are the consequences of the polluted body being inserted into the land after death? Consequences for the land and for the people who live on that land.
Sophocles text is translated by Oliver Taplin, with permission of Oxford University Press to use in this production.
CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Mark Fleishman
Text by: Qondiswa James (#aftersophocles)
Design: Craig Leo
Musical Direction: Neo Muyanga
Choreography: Ina Wichterich
Lighting Design: Themba Stewart, Mark Fleishman
Audio Visual/ Projections: Daniel Manners
Costumes: Roderick Jaipal, Edit Atelier
Scenic Artist: Yolandi Saayman van Jaarsveld
Live Camera Operator: Jannous Nkululeko Aukema
CAST
Oedipus: Andrew Buckland
Theseus: Faniswa Yisa
Creon: Jennie Reznek
Chorus: Buhle T. Stefane, Azola Mkhabile, Mihlali Bele, Lindokuhle Melaphi, Thabo Mkenene,
Kuhle Myathaza, Nosiphiwo Ndabeni, Siphenathi Siqwayi, Wendy Mrali, Moluphi Lepeli, Sipho Kalako
Assistant Stage Managers: Mluleki Titi, Mfundo Zono
Rehearsal Schedule
You can navigate and click on the rehearsal schedule to see what took place during a specific session of the rehearsal process, or to get an understanding of how the production was developed from the very beginning.
Photos
These photographs take you on a journey from the very beginning of rehearsals, through to the final staging of the production.
Videos
These videos take you on a journey from the very beginning of rehearsals, through to the final professional staging of the production.
