Why is Sophocles so big in the West End?

The Greek tragedies ask enormous, irresolvable questions and say the unsayable. It’s no wonder they’re still relevant in our fractured, post-truth world

Charlotte Higgins

West End theatre is in a weird and unsettling place. It feels as though something that might once have been good and exciting is coming to an end. Many of the big shows, the ones that might have posters on the tube, are TV or film adaptations, like The Devil Wears Prada. Or familiar staples, like Mamma Mia!. Or ones with star casting, like the much-derided The Tempest with Sigourney Weaver. Which is not to say all of these shows are bad, just that there is a kind of stasis. Producers are chasing post-Covid, theatre-shy audiences at a time when the pipeline of new material flowing in from the increasingly impoverished subsidised theatre world is running dry. In this mix, though, there is something surprising: a lot of Sophocles. One…

You're reading a preview of

Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 31 January 2025

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.