A tale of old unfolds
View(s):Swirling clouds of incense rising over the gates of St. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, walking through the mist, theatre goers hoping to watch the Drama Society’s latest efforts are to be given a sense of travelling back in time to Greece. Fire torches marking the path to their seats around the Chapel Steps where The Tragedy of King Oedipus unravels.
A hit since it was first staged in the Dionysian Festival after Sophocles penned the play in the 4th Century BC,the boys hope to show a different side of the well -known plot. While it inspired early psychologist like Freud to Christen his findings, for the cast and crew the play is much more than what made it scandalously famous in the modern world. Hoping the audience sees a story of how destiny will prevail and a just king who values concepts like the rule of law they feel despite its ancient origins the play isn’t dated. Colourful characters like prophets and oracles that are a part of the background of the tale are in a sense much like Sri Lankan beliefs of soothsayers and such, which makes the play a little easier to relate to they say.
Describing it as a complete foil to the kind of English plays that have been staged as of late, they offer a different kind of experience- one rich in poetic dialogues, and chorus of Theban elders to name a few. Taking the place of special effects the chorus according to the cast is an equally or even more effective way to tell a story. Hoping to resurrect the very beginning of theatre, the Drama Society invites the public to ‘The Tragedy of Kind Oedipus’ which will run its final performance this evening (October 19).
Tickets priced at Rs. 800 are available at Tickets.lk and the College Gym.