The Oedipus Project
Explore The Oedipus Project (2020), including ReelBot’s take, cast, runtime, where to watch, and similar movies worth adding to your list.
2020 · 74 min · TMDB 10.0/10
Overview
The Oedipus Project is an innovative new digital initiative by Theater of War Productions that will present acclaimed actors performing scenes from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King as a catalyst for powerful, healing online conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon diverse communities throughout the world. Sophocles’ ancient play, written and performed in 429 BC during the time of a plague that killed one-third of the Athenian population, is a timeless story of arrogant leadership, ignored prophecy, and a pestilence that ravages the city of Thebes. At the time the play was first performed, the audience would have been reeling in the wake of a pestilence and its economic, political, and social aftermath. Seen through this lens Oedipus the King appears to have been a powerful public health tool for helping Athenians communalize the trauma of the plague, through a story that is as relevant now as it was in its own time.
Directed by Bryan Doerries
Cast
- Oscar Isaac — Oedipus
- Frances McDormand — Jocosta
- John Turturro — Creon
- Jeffrey Wright — Tiresias
- Frankie Faison — Shepherd