Ralph Fiennes and Clare Higgins at the National thru Jan. 4 Photo: Catherine Ashmore
By Ray Bennett
Bloodied and screaming, Ralph Fiennes brings the tortured title role of Sophocles’ “Oedipus” to vivid life in a new version by Irish playwright Frank McGuinness.
On a set that is both stark and imposing and in the modern dress of a city banker about to go under, Fiennes portrays a character whose endless curiosity about himself leads to dire revelations and bleak self-imposed punishment.
McGuinness takes the tale of a would-be leader whose relationship with his mother is the source of much scandal-making and fear and turns it into a mystery story. The man’s tragedy is that the villain he is seeking turns out to be himself and that’s too great a burden to bear.
Read my full review in The Hollywood Reporter and more about the production