'Oedipus’ at Court

Press, 4 July 1983, Page 8

'Oedipus’ at Court

“Oedipus,” by Sophocles; "Dirty Linen,” by Tom Stoppard, directed by Elric Hooper for the Court Theatre. Original music by Dorothy Buchanan. July 2 to August 6. Running time: 7.30 p.m. to 10.25 p.m. Reviewed by Gerrit Bahlman. Strange bedfellows indeed! Sophocles and Stoppard — a double bill which invites comparison and prejudgement. The idea of a 2500-year-old piece of Greek tragedy would seem intimidating to most theatre patrons, and the lure of Stoppard a cube of sugar to take with the classic medicine. It was noted that some decided on the sugar only. That was a mistake — a 2500-year-old plot does not last unless it is an absolutely riveting tale. By comparison Stoppard’s farce was lightweight and trivial, although full of his usual wit and comic vitality

“Oedipus” was staged with stark simplicity: a semi-circle of flats with gauze screens breaking the structure and providing entrance and exit planes for the central acting arena. Costuming was full and dignified in the traditional Greek chiton. There were two significant embellishments: raised sandals and headgear which gave performers a stately, dignified air.

The plot of “Oedipus” is well known but the subtlety is easily forgotten. Hooper’s direction allows the essence of the tale to grip and enthrall.

Two performances in particular were striking in

their ability to evoke empathy: Lex Matheson’s Oedipus and Geoffrey Wearing’s Tieresias, the blind seer. Oedipus’s pride and haughty disregard for the opinions of others was caught and translated into fine drama.

Sherril Cooper, as Jocasta, and Geoffrey Heath, as Creon, her brother, sustained their roles with sincere credibility. Barry Empson, as the main priest, led and enhanced the chorus work which was sustained by projected script and music specially written by Dorothy Buchanan. The music was recorded and lacked precise reproduction. It was monastic in style and injected a sense of reverence. Scott Young, Rob Calhoun, Chris Boje, and Barry Empson chanted with the recorded music, adding a realistic component. “Dirty Linen” was set in a room behind the face of Big Ben in London. A parliamentary select committee has been set up to examine the morals of members of Parliament. Newspapers, scurrilous rags that they are, have been publishing articles suggesting that members of Parliament have been leading a gay old time, lunching young nubiles.

The assembled members of the select committee, however, prove to be well versed in the task set and their decision not to call for any evidence is undoubtedly because it is unnecessary. Properly described ,as a lecherous farce, the cast of comic characters is well up to the task.

Heath, as Cocklebury-

Smith, rabbits his alibis to the young typist from the pool, while Empson, as McTeazel, M.P., is momentarily absent. McTeazel also generates some Scottish alternative, “Forget me, I wasn’t with you last night,” excuse, and the respect of the audience grows as we discover the propensity of the functionally illiterate typist cum select committee secretary. Parliamentary caricatures included Matheson as the Lancastrian, Withinshaw; Sherril Cooper as the lesbian Mrs Edbury; Scott Young as the well oiled Chamberlain; and Chris Boje the black, ailable Home Secretary. Deborah Davids played the strumpet, Maddie Gotobed, who is on first-name terms with almost everyone.

Craig Hood, as French, M.P., is the fly in the ointment because he is as yet pure and unsullied. The lunch break sorts that out, though. The lunch-break also provides two civil servants with an opportunity to use the room to consider a naturalisation case. The resulting parody of all things American is extremely clever and a tribute to Calhoun and Wearing.

Both plays were understandably static and the decision to provide them together as a double bill achieved the width of popular appeal required. The play which will be remembered though will be “Oedipus,” as its intensity and dramatic impact left Stoppard’s play in the wilderness.