Ryan Ruckman, playing Oedipus in both plays that bear the king's name during NoExit's month-long Theban Play engagement, may have been a bit low-key in Oedipus Rex, but his terse, laconic approach seemed appropriate to Oedipus at Colonus, which sees the blind ex-pat looking for a place to die, more or less.
Michael Bachman's interpretation was staged around a fountain in the formal garden south of the Lilly House, a setup allowing for surprising entrances through the trees and the kind of balance-beam inspired stage movement that left one wondering who would end up splashing in first.
There was a stately, deliberate, almost repetitive feel to the proceedings: in one trope, characters mimed their death by hanging, as if doomed to eternally repeat actions taken during one lifetime. Most moving were the last few minutes, when the script drew from a verse translation, sometimes spoken in chorus, to tell of Oedipus's death. Final performance 7 p.m., June 1, at the IMA.
Related Locations
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Indianapolis Museum of Art
- 4000 Michigan Rd., Indianapolis North (general) IN 46208
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317-920-2660
- www.imamuseum.org
- (based on 1 user review)
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