Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King

Oedipus being shown in an updated version is a very effective and understandable way to present it to audiences. The play that was viewed in class was a good adaptation of the original play. Although modern versions of Oedipus are far different today than the way they were performed during Sophocles’s time, I think he would be impressed with the way that modern versions of his play are performed.

The reason I think that the play works so well in an updated version is the fact that most people know the story before viewing it. The play uses tragic irony to keep the audience interested. This story could have been written in any time period and still been able to engage the audience. This is exactly why the play has been around for so long. The story is so good that no matter what way you present it will work because the foundation of the story works so well.

The thing I think that is mostly gained from an updated version is the technology and the overall appeal to the viewer. I really don’t think that I would have enjoyed watching plays in the original Greek theatre because of the way it was. I am probably kind of bias because of the technologies that we have today. We are very spoiled. They would have been hard to understand and uncomfortable to watch. This modern day version of the play works very well. It is easy to understand and easy to follow. The characters appearances were portrayed just as they would be if could not see the characters at all. Oedipus is portrayed as a good looking strong young man that looks like a king. His wife/mother Jocasta looks much older than Oedipus which is very important because this is one of the main plot lines in the play. In ancient versions, a person watching the play would not be able to distinguish the different characters. The characters would just have different kinds of masks to portray the different characters. That is why I think the use of the human characters playing each role works much better than the traditional way the Greek theatre was viewed.

The most important thing that is being lost from showing Oedipus in an updated version is the classic way that the ancient Greek theatre used to present their plays. The whole ora of the Greek Theatre is missing. In the play that was viewed in class there were numerous actors