KNOW THYSELF – NOTHING IN EXCESS – CERTAINTY BRINGS RUIN
Sophocles (496-406 BC) was a singer, dancer, musician, actor and playwright in Athens. He also worked in public affairs, serving as a treasurer, and a general alongside Pericles. He was also pious, serving as a priest. He was deeply involved in bringing the worship of Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing, to Athens.
He wrote some 123 plays of which 7 have survived in their complete form, including Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. Antigone is probably the most famous ancient Greek play. Oedipus the King is often described as the best. “The play is universally recognized as the dramatic masterpiece of the Greek theatre,” said British-American classicist and scholar Bernard Knox (1914-2010). Both plays were famous and much loved during Sophocles’ lifetime. 2500 years later they are still very much with us.
The ancient Greek plays were highly influential during the birth of democracy in Athens in the 5th century BC, teaching people about the role of the collective and the role of the individual. They are as relevant today as they were 2500 years ago. Greek Theatre Now is pleased to present Oedipus the King to Canberra audiences this April 2026.
Actors: Andrew Mackenzie (Oedipus, King of Thebes), Owen Maycock, Jade Boyle, Roslyn Hull, Neil McLeod, Louisa O’Brien, George Belibassakis, Liam O’Connor, Michael Smith.
Photographer: Fuyao Liu
Graphic Designer: Emilio Park
Props: Ben Smith Whatley
Costumes: Bhanupriya Pandya
Adviser to Greek Theatre Now: Emeritus Professor of Classics at The Australian National University Elizabeth Minchin
Producer, Director, Production Design, Marketing, Script (based on R C Jebb translation): Michael Smith.
