Oedipus Rex

2015 | Director

Singular proposition - Scenic technology - Theatre - Scenic Installation

Oedipus Rex is an immersive spectacle that brings the tragedy of Sophocles to the audience from the point of view of the tragic hero. A scenic installation composed of a system of earphones and a circular stage surrounded by video screens that rebroadcast the images of the characters of the play.

Oedipus, the king of Thebes, wants to free his city from the scourge that afflicts it. To release it, Oedipus must find the culprit of this misfortune who, according to the gods, is the person who killed the old ruler, Laius. Oedipus launches a public appeal to find the culprit and, before all the citizens of Thebes, conducts this investigation. Oedipus eventually discovers that the murderer he is looking for is himself, that Laius was his father, and that, moreover, he married his mother. The piece reveals the process of Oedipus' awareness and the understanding of its tragic inevitability, which is the cause and consequence of the city's misfortune.

Ricard Soler Mallol offers an immersion in the dramaturgical space, a contemporary staging of the Greek classic where the spectator takes the lead role. Each spectator is provided with earphones through which he is transmitted an ancient text, the words of the Oedipus sovereign. On the periphery, screens embody the different characters of the tragedy. A scenic device that leads the viewer to become Oedipus. Being a scenic installation, Oedipus Rex is an ideal project for centres of contemporary art and unconventional theatrical spaces.

Premiered on October 23, 2015 at UQAM, Montreal.