B'way/Off-B'way Review: Oedipus; Archduke

Mark Strong and Lesley Manville in Oedipus.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

The countdown clock in Hildegard Bechtler’s sterile set for Robert Icke’s explosively dramatic adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus was ticking down to the final minutes and I was having trouble breathing. Even though the shattering conclusion of incest and destruction is well known to the civilized world, Icke’s modern version of the classic Greek tragedy is so perfectly paced and infused with such suspense, the tension was palpable. The prideful Oedipus (a dynamic Mark Strong) is about to find out his true identity. The revelation will destroy his burgeoning political career, his family, his very essence, and erase his hubristic pride. The next few moments are a stunning coup de theater in the Broadway season’s most stunning dramatic presentation.

Now at Studio 54, produced in association with Roundabout Theater Company after an Olivier Award-winning run in London, Oedipus is everything theater should be—thought-provoking, emotionally stirring and empathy-evoking. Icke’s adaptation is smart, relevant and eloquently addresses issues afflicting our contemporary body politic. His direction is flawless, skillfully and slowly building the anxiety till the inexorable finale. The placement of that large clock marking the minutes and seconds to the end, and Tom Gibbons’ eerie sound design add to the stress. Strong and Lesley Manville, painstakingly documenting the gradual crumbling of the colossal egos of Oedipus and his wife Jocasta, lead a magnificent cast, each clearly delineating their part in the hero’s downfall and their reactions.  

Mark Strong and Samuel Brewer in Oedipus.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

Icke whose previous transatlantic triumphs have included a masterful Hamlet and Oresteia as well as an updated version of an obscure Arthur Schnitzler play called The Doctor, has transformed Oedipus from an ancient Greek king into a 2025 progressive political candidate on the cusp of winning an decisive elective victory. We open with a giant video screen (Tal Yarden designed the CNN-style videos) depicting Oedipus’ campaign vows to reform a corrupt government, sounding much like NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, and promising to release his birth certificate, recalling Barack Obama.  

The screen raises and we are in campaign headquarters as the election results are pouring in. Oedipus’ mother Merope (stern and mysterious Anne Reid) urgently requests private time with her son. (We all know where that’s headed.) Meanwhile, Oedipus receives ominous warnings from the blind seer Teiresias (intense Samuel Brewer) that he will murder his father and sleep with his mother. As the protagonist attempts to ferret out the meaning of this riddle, we learn this contemporary Oedipus wants to reform the future. Strong makes Oedipus a complex figure. He revels in the hero’s robust ambitions, but also exposes his tender side. Oedipus compassionately accepts a gay son, promises better living conditions for his constituents, and loves his family. But Icke stresses Sophocles’ theme that the past can determine destiny. 

And Manville is just as complicated. She is a driven political force, but also deeply damaged. In a searing monologue, she achingly reveals Jocasta’s trauma at the hands of her first husband the previous ruler, Laius. There is also a sizzling sexual connection between Oedipus and Jocasta, which leads to their undoing. 

 

In addition to those already cited in the supporting cast, there’s admirable from John Carroll Lynch’s cautious Creon, the advisor who believes in following the rules at all costs; Teagle F. Bougere as a haunted witness to Oedipus’ deeply-held secret; Bhaskar Patel’s faithful family retainer; and Olivia Reis, Jordan Scowen, and James Wilbraham as Oedipus’ loving adult children, each with depths of their own. 

Though the story is more than 2,000 years old, Icke and his company have brought Oedipus into the 21st century, alive and kicking.

Jason Sanchez, Jake Berne, and Adrien Rolet
in Archduke. Credit: Joan Marcus

Roundabout is presenting another multilayered political drama (but it’s really a comedy), Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke at their Off-Broadway space, the Laura Pels. As in his previous works such as Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night, Joseph depicts ordinary figures caught up in the tidal wave of history. Here three clueless teenagers, each with a fatal diagnosis of tuberculosis, are recruited to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 Sarajevo, setting off World War I. None of them really understand the geopolitical machinations behind their actions, they just want their young lives to have some purpose before they are snuffed out by disease, and to find a really good sandwich.   

Patrick Page, Jason Sanchez, Adrien Rolet,
Jake Berne, and Kristine Nielsen in
Archduke. Credit: Joan Marcus

Joseph sharply satirizes patriotic fervor and nationalistic honor with the scheme’s ruthless recruiter, Dragutin “Apis” Dimitrijevic, referred to as “The Captain,” played with gravelly gusto by Patrick Page. He plies the starving boys with a lavish meal, presented by his eccentric cook (Kristine Nielsen, riotously funny as always), and regales them with bloodthirsty tales of heroism to get them to sign up for certain death. Dark humor vies with existential dread as the young men struggle to understand their destiny and finally yearn for the simple pleasures of life—finding love, raising a family, enjoying a sandwich. Director Darko Tresnjak perfectly balances the conflicting strains of comedy and tragedy. 

Jake Berne, Adrien Rolet and Jason Sanchez capture the young fools’ confusion and yearning for meaning in a seemingly meaningless universe. Page adeptly reveals the Captain’s ferocious, blind devotion to duty and Nielsen is a merry buffoon and frightening mother figure with hidden layers she slowly peels back. Archduke is a bizarre Beckett-like farce with the clowns crying in the darkness, howling against the tides of history.  

Oedipus: Nov. 13—Feb. 8, 2026. Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St., NYC. Running time: two hours with no intermission. criterionticketing.com

Archduke: Nov. 12—Dec. 21. Roundabout Theater Company at the Laura Pels Theater/Harold and Miriam Sternberg Center for Theatre, 111 W. 46th St., NYC. Running time: two hours and 20 minutes including intermission. roundabouttheater.org