Hot on the heels of last year’s Robert Icke production of Oedipus, the Old Vic kicks off its 2025 with… Oedipus, this time adapted by Ella Hickson and directed by Matthew Warchus and Hofesh Shechter. There was a considerable – if niche – controversy last year when both productions were announced on the same evening, in what was clearly a weird gesture of competitiveness. However, the two are liable to be very different – Icke’s writing and directorial style are totally different to Hickson and Warchus’s, while the presence of the great choreographer Shechter suggests a much more physical approach to the Old Vic version.
It’s also got the considerable USP of some very tasty names lined up for doomed hero Oedipus and his wife-slash-mother Jocasta: Oscar winner Rami Malek is an eye-catching star making his UK stage debut, while Indira Varma is a reliably tremendous stalwart of stage and screen.
