Oedipus
Oedipus is the Anglicised name for Οἰδίπους (pron: "Oidípous", meaning "swollen foot") the mythical Greek king of Thebes.
The name is usually spelled Oidipus in Germanic languages such as Afrikaans, Dutch, German and Swedish.
Contents
The myth and the plays
A tragic hero in Greek mythology, on whose tragic life a number of plays have been based, the best known perhaps Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (429 BC), and the follow up play Oedipus at Colonus. (According to surviving records, Aeschylus won first prize at the City Dionysia with a trilogy about the House of Laius in 467 BC. One part of the trilogy was a play about Oedipus. However, we know only know about it by reputation, as no text is extant. Euripides also wrote an Oedipus, but here only a few fragments survive.)
Both the myth and the Sophocles plays about the myth have served as the basis for many adaptations and experiments over the years, both local and international. Also in South Africa (See also Classical Theatre in South Africa)
The name Oedipus and aspects of the history have additionally been immortalized in a way by Freud's concept of the "Oedipus complex"[1].
Among the plays of consequence in South Africa are:
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles
Oedipus by Seneca
La Machine Infernale by Jean Cocteau.
Oedipus by Ted Hughes
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_the_King
https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lys_van_vertalings_in_Afrikaans
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Oedipus by Seneca
Oedipus (Oidipus) is a tragic play that was written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca at some time during the 1st century AD. It is a retelling of the story of Oedipus, as told in Oedipus the King by the Athenian playwright, Sophocles. It is written in Latin and was not intended to be performed, but rather recited at private gatherings.
However, it has been the source of a number of adaptations itself.
Adaptations
Oedipus by Ted Hughes
The English poet laureate Ted Hughes published a translation of Seneca's play in 1969.
This version of the play was presented by PACT Drama in 1971 in the Arena of the State Theatre under the direction of Schalk Jacobsz starring Jan Engelen, Joan Friedman, Frantz Dobrowsky, Nigel Vermaas, Marion Craig-Smith, Stephan Bouwer, Noel Roos and Will Bernard, choreographed by Francois Swart.
In 1980 the adaptation by Hughes was staged at the Baxter Theatre, directed by Barney Simon. The cast included Danny Keogh, Grethe Fox, Michael O'Brien, Joko Scott, Thoko Ntshinga, Richard Grant, Linda Harris, (Fiona Ramsay?) (and Robin Smith?).
A translation into Afrikaans by Noël Roos, Libé Ferreira and Johann van Heerden of this version, entitled Oidipus, was directed by Roos for the University of Stellenbosch Drama Department in October 1982, starring Albert Maritz, Libé Ferreira, Belinda Richardson, Antoinette Pienaar, Nicola van der Walt, Trudi Huskisson, Michelle Alberts, Isadora Verwey and Ilze Swanepoel.
Oedipus by Hugo Claus
Based on Seneca's Oedipus, translated into Afrikaans by Wim Vorster. Presented by SUKOVS Toneel in 1990, performed in the André Huguenet Theatre, Bloemfontein. Direction was by Jannie Gildenhuys, decor designed by Johnny Boerstoel, costumes by James Parker and lighting by Martin Pelser. Members of the cast were Gerben Kamper, Isadora Verwey, Cobus de Villiers, Ernst Eloff, Dorette Nel, James van Helsdingen, Marga van Rooy, Christo Compion, Marion Holm, Hennie Baird.
Greek by Stephen Berkoff
Oidipoes by Ben de Haeck
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_the_King
https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lys_van_vertalings_in_Afrikaans
P.J. Conradie, 1999
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_(Seneca)
Helikon, 5(21), 1955.
Source: Barrow, Brian & Williams-Short, Yvonne (eds.). 1988. Theatre Alive! The Baxter Story 1977-1987.
Oedipus theatre programmes, PACT, 1971, 1990.
B. van Zyl Smit 2003 "The Receptions of Greek Tragedy in the 'Old' and the 'New' South Africa" in Akroterion 48 : 3-20)[2]
Betine van Zyl Smit. 2010. "Oedipus and Afrikaans Theater" in Comparative Drama (Vol. 44, No. 4: pp. 477-493)[3]
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays
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Return to PLAYS III: Collections
Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances
Return to South African Festivals and Competitions
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