Episode Synopsis
One of our Theater
Fanatic colleagues, Steven Johnson starred in the 2012, summer version of
the Faux-Real Theater company’s Oedipus. In this video, Steven Johnson
interviews Oedipus
Driven by the notion
that what was traditional in 429 BCE is radical today, The Faux-Real Theatre
Company performs Oedipus exactly as Sophocles intended… sort of. Utilizing
bouzoukis, drums, platform shoes, an ecstatic chorus, and an all-male cast,
Faux-Real reincarnates the revelations of the ancients. Only, this all-male
cast is spearheaded by a woman. What happens when Oedipus is played by a woman
and Jocasta is a man? Searching beyond the Freudian interpretation (boy loves
mom) Faux-Real re-examines Oedipus with modern eyes and ancient techniques,
uncovering fearful truths and grotesque ironies that Sophocles presented
audiences 2000 years before the birth of psychology. Building upon their
previous works, FUNBOX and Shakespeare’s Haunted House, Faux-Real apply their
boundary-breaking aesthetic to the ancients. “…the company balances an extreme
avant-garde approach in their texts and staging with a ripping good show that’s
accessible to even mainstream audiences.” - The Village Voice “…the actors are
almost frighteningly possessed by real and impressive powers of concentration.”
- Back Stage Magazine
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