They seemed like the perfect couple. They’ve been together for years and have grown children. So why should a recently uncovered family secret change everything? Should a man really leave his loving, supportive, beautiful, and funny wife just because she happens to be his mother?
Actress Lesley Manville had seen various productions of Sophocles’ Oedipus before, but never one like the modern adaptation she’s starring in this fall at Roundabout Theatre Company’s Studio 54 on Broadway (running until February 8). This version leaves audiences shattered—the word “devastating” kept coming up when it was staged in London last year. Set in a campaign office, it features Oedipus as a politician waiting with his wife Jocasta for major election results. Their lives are about to change, though not in the way anyone but Greek tragedy readers would expect.
“These two hours that seem straightforward—they’re decompressing, eating, waiting for results—slowly become filled with unsettling events,” Manville explains. A large clock counts down to the election deadline, but we gradually realize something else is being counted down too.
As Jocasta, Manville knew she and Mark Strong (playing Oedipus) needed to “create this fabulous couple”—so compelling that you’d somehow root for them to stay together. “He looks to her; they make each other laugh. They’re sexually attracted to each other. She stands by him in the best way, as his equal.” In one scene Sophocles certainly didn’t write, “they start to have oral sex.” It’s a delicate balance—will the audience see intimacy or indecency?
For our interview, Manville chose Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair, with its plush banquettes and Art Deco mirrors. She arrived teary-eyed but apologized, blaming allergies. She wore a soft leather Armani jacket from thirty years ago paired with a Loewe handbag from the spring 2025 collection—fitting since she’s friends with the brand. She appeared poised, elegant, and completely in control.
Since playing Princess Margaret in The Crown and receiving her first Oscar nomination in 2018 for Phantom Thread, journalists often describe Manville’s “late-flowering career.” The 69-year-old actress dismisses this: “Oh, come on. In my 20s I was at the Royal Court Theatre working with new writers. That was a flowering career too. I’ve worked extensively with Mike Leigh, the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, and Almeida.” Indeed, she’s worked steadily in theater, film, and television since her teens, commuting daily from England’s south coast in her father’s taxi.
So it means something when Manville says this play contains “probably the most phenomenal speech I’ve ever had”—when Jocasta finally tells her husband she was raped as a child and bore a son who was immediately taken from her, around the time her husband was born.
Manville knew she and Strong had to “create this fabulous couple” for the play to work. Strong wears a Dunhill suit; Manville an Emilia Wickstead coat.
This production marks Manville’s first collaboration with director Robert Icke. In England, Icke’s reinterpretations of classics by Aeschylus, Shakespeare, Schiller, Ibsen, and Chekhov have become award-winning, must-see events, though he’s probably best known…He first gained attention in America for his 2017 Broadway adaptation of Orwell’s 1984, which was so intense that it reportedly made some audience members sick. The British press often portrays him as a boy wonder, but his collaborator Manville is quick to point out that he possesses an emotional depth unusual for a 38-year-old man—he grasps the subtlety, pain, complexity, longing, and passion in relationships.
Icke has a talent for uncovering what remains powerful and unsettling in classic plays, while boldly cutting anything that feels dated or overly academic. His version of Oedipus removes the Greek chorus and obscure ancient references, making the story immediate rather than historical.
He believes his main duty is to the audience member who knows nothing about the play—perhaps a teenager dragged to the theater by an adult. He wants the experience to be electrifying for them. That doesn’t mean adding celebrities or pop culture references, but rather stripping away the dust so the play speaks directly to their lives.
The idea to set Oedipus in a modern political campaign came to him after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He imagined what it must have been like for Hillary Clinton in her hotel room the night she lost. He wrote the adaptation out of order, tackling the most exciting scenes first—a process he calls “disorganized and chaotic.”
When casting, Icke looks for actors who embody the role naturally. He chose Manville for Jocasta not only because of her brilliant performance in Phantom Thread, but because she “feels like a mum.” Similarly, he wanted Oedipus to be played by someone who seemed principled, steady, and believable as a winning political candidate.
Strong, who often plays villains and spies despite being known as warmhearted in real life, fit that vision. Icke was drawn to his integrity and calm presence. In fact, when Icke learned he was going to become a father, Strong—who has two sons with his wife, producer Liza Marshall—was one of the first people he turned to for advice.
I met Strong at Wyndham’s Theatre, a late-Victorian building next to Leicester Square station in London’s West End. Having performed there in both A View from the Bridge and Oedipus, he guided me around with ease, pointing out where Maggie Smith once had her dressing room. He carries himself like someone who belongs—tall, lean, and charismatic, with a voice that would suit a campaign poster.I wonder if it’s a coincidence that he’s played so many international spies, given his background. He was born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia—his father was Italian, his mother Austrian. He attended school in England and studied law in Munich, where he met drama students and realized they were having more fun than he was. He switched paths, and by his mid-20s, he was performing small roles in King Lear and Richard III at the National Theatre, learning from the greats while watching from the wings.
He had never worked with Manville before, and when they first met, he wanted to come across as reliable and professional—someone she could count on. So, he avoided any “Hi, Mum!” jokes to ease the tension. They share a similar approach to work: intense drama onstage, calm professionalism offstage. They don’t get caught up in the mystique of acting, he says. When you’re waiting in the wings, you might be chatting about having a cup of tea, and then you step onstage and it’s showtime.
I asked Manville and Strong what they do in their free time. Their answers were similar: what free time? Strong tries to start his mornings walking his miniature schnauzer and plays soccer with friends when he can. His favorite escape is his cozy retreat near Brighton, where he can go for a swim. Manville wishes she had more time to read—she’s had the latest Sally Rooney novel on her bedside table for weeks—but her evenings are usually spent learning lines. She lives alone and values solitude for her work, preferring not to run lines with others. She loves interior decorating and, after 15 years in the same West London house, misses the excitement of a new project. Strong notes that people might think creatives live in chaos, but the opposite is true—discipline is essential for finding what they achieved in their production. He plans to keep up his exercise routine in New York but isn’t there to party. Manville last worked in New York in 2018, starring in Long Day’s Journey Into Night and staying in a friend’s apartment. She admits mixed feelings about being away this time—excited for Broadway but already missing her new granddaughter.
Adaptations of classical plays should be bold, but a play about incest brings extra challenges. They discussed whether to involve an intimacy coordinator, but Manville and Strong felt they could handle it themselves, having done similar work before. The ending was the only part they kept postponing in rehearsals—building up the tension, as Icke describes it. When they finally ran those scenes, everyone felt the high stakes deeply. The ending has little dialogue, mostly silence, creating such a powerful theatrical moment that Manville sometimes wishes she could watch it from the audience. The first full run-through in rehearsal moved the stage management to tears, which Strong initially thought was politeness but realized was genuine.
In this story: hair by Leigh Keates; makeup by Kirstin Piggott; manicurist, Ella Vivii; tailor, Chloe Cammidge. Produced by Nicole Holcroft-Emmess.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about a daring new interpretation of Oedipus designed to be clear concise and helpful for anyone interested
General Beginner Questions
1 What is this new interpretation of Oedipus about
Its a modern staging of the ancient Greek play that reimagines the story in a contemporary setting using current language themes and issues to make the ancient tragedy feel immediate and relevant to todays audience
2 I dont know the original story of Oedipus Do I need to
Not at all This production is designed to stand on its own Knowing the original myth might add an extra layer but the modern interpretation will make the core story and its themes clear to everyone
3 Why would someone set a 2500yearold play in the present day
To show that the plays core themesfate family secrets power and the search for truthare still incredibly powerful and relatable today It helps us see ourselves in these ancient characters
4 Is it still a tragedy
Yes absolutely The fundamental heartbreaking story remains the same but the modern context can make the tragic elements feel even more shocking and personal
Thematic Interpretive Questions
5 How does this modern setting change the storys meaning
It shifts the focus Instead of an inescapable fate decreed by gods the tragedy might feel more like a result of human psychology societal pressures or the unintended consequences of our own choices making it a powerful commentary on modern life
6 What are some examples of modern elements they might use
Instead of a kingdom Oedipus could be a charismatic CEO or a populist politician The plague on Thebes could be a social or environmental crisis The Oracle might be represented by data algorithms a therapist or a cryptic news report
7 Does this interpretation change the characters
Their core drives remain the same but their personalities and professions are updated Oedipus is still arrogant and determined Jocasta is still pragmatic and in denial They just express these traits in a way a modern audience would instantly recognize
8 Whats the main message of this new version
It likely emphasizes that the dangers of arrogance the weight of the past and the destructive power of secrets are universal human problems not just