Thebes

Description

I mean, what is Thebes? A theocracy? No. A meritocracy? Certainly not. A monarchy? Kind of. A patriarchy? Less and less so. Thebes is many things, and to revolutionise that? Well, how? From Oedipus to Antigone, the story of Thebes remains a fascinating exploration of fate, morality and chaos, two and a half thousand years after the saga was originally written. The first domino falls as Oedipus realises he has unwittingly fulfilled a cruel and unusual prophecy. As control of Thebes is handed to Creon, his sons fight each other for the kingdom and his daughter Antigone is determined to serve the honour of her family to the bitter end. This version weaves together Sophocles and Aeschylus to present the full, visceral and bloody account of the Oedipus dynasty.

Gareth Jandrell has an MA in Writing for Performance (Goldsmiths University) and was part of the Royal Court Writers' Studio Group (2012). His plays have been performed at Soho Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, Arcola Theatre, Theatre503 and White Bear Theatre. His play Ache won the ScriptSpace competition and was performed at Tobacco Factory, Bristol. He has been shortlisted for the Old Vic New Voices Edinburgh Season and HighTide's Escalator Plays. He is an Artistic Associate of The Story Project and an Associate Artist of The Faction where his credits include adaptations of Lorca's Blood Wedding and Schiller's Demetrius co-adapted with Che Walker, April de Angelis and Ranjit Bolt.

Jandrell's text is fresh and original . . . Every inch an impressively strong ensemble piece . . . a pretty powerful piece from a company whose work really does seem to go from strength to strength. * What's On Stage *