Carey Perloff's Oedipus King/Colonus
Gives an Ancient Tragedy New Life

Stars (from left) include Caroline Marques as Ismene, Michael Hayden as Oedipus, and Celeste Pelletier as Antigone (photo by HuthPhoto)

In PlayMakers Repertory Company Sept. 9-27 world-premiere production of Oedipus: King/Colonus, translated by Robert Bagg (1935-2026) and adapted and directed by Carey Perloff, an old man sits alone on a rock ledge at the rear of the vast, open stage, quietly playing a lute. Prerecorded sounds of the forest fill the theater. The set, all gray rock, suggests a cavern, an ancient ruin or, perhaps, the remains of a civilization that has survived its own tragedies.

Then the house lights blink on and off.

Fourteen actors, dressed in stark black or white robes, walk solemnly from the front of the stage toward the rear and disappear. The musician exchanges his lute for a seed rattle -- perhaps, a cacho -- and a blinded old man enters with his young female assistant, followed by the white-robed chorus. The newcomers have entered a sacred space in Athens, where they are informed that the city is ruled by a woman King, Theseus.

Carey Perloff's Oedipus: King/Colonus stars Michael Hayden as Oedipus (photo by HuthPhoto)

The musician changes instruments again, this time taking up a leather-topped drum. It is a simple gesture, but throughout the production these transitions become an essential part of the storytelling.

The blind man is, of course, Oedipus (Michael Hayden), the once-renowned and now accursed King of Thebes. His companion is his loyal daughter Ismene (Caroline Marques), herself the product of the unspeakable union that destroyed his family. Oedipus has gouged out his own eyes as penance after discovering that he unknowingly killed his father and married and had children with his mother. His sons, meanwhile, continue fighting over who will rule Thebes rather than aiding their disgraced father.

Oedipus wants only death. Though the evil tragedy of his life prohibits him from being buried in sacred ground, an oracle has foretold that his burial will be a blessing for the land where he dies, implying that his eventual resting place will bring protection and salvation to the city that receives him. Thus begins a drama in which a man who has lost virtually everything must recognize that his suffering may ultimately have a purpose.

The world premiere of Carey Perloff's Oedipus: King/Colonus at PlayMakers Rep stars Tia James as Jocasta (photo by HuthPhoto)

At the urging of the chorus, Oedipus recounts the story familiar to virtually anyone who encountered Greek mythology in school: the inalterable prophecy of his father's death, Oedipus' unknowing murder of his father, his marriage to his mother, Jocasta, (Tia James), the discovery of his true parentage, and the terrible realization of what he has unknowingly done.

Much of the drama consists not of action but of the reenactment and recollection of events. That predictability is unavoidable. The story is not merely well known; it is foundational. And Sophocles was writing more than 2,400 years ago, when theatrical conventions were radically different from our own. He was famously the first Greek playwright to include more than two actors in a play, so the emphasis on dialogue as opposed to action is innate.

It is the chance to see this play performed professionally and in full, as it might have appeared to a Greek audience 2,500 years ago, that makes it worth seeing. Indeed, only seven of Sophocles plays have survived in their entirety. Watching one of them unfold in a theater today creates an extraordinary connection across time: an audience listening to a story that has been heard, in various forms, for millennia.

Jeffrey Blair Cornell stars as Kreon in the world premiere of Carey Perloff's Oedipus: King/Colonus (photo by HuthPhoto)

Adapter/director Carey Perloff's production is at its most compelling when its theatrical elements complement rather than overwhelm the ancient text. The original music, composed and performed live by David Coulter, is the production's highlight. Coulter moves among an array of unusual, organic instruments, creating an aural landscape that seems to emerge from the rocks themselves. The music is less accompaniment than atmosphere -- at times primitive, ritualistic, and deeply unsettling.

The lighting is a close second. Particularly impressive is the precisely timed lightning and thunder that presumably signals Zeus' presence. Lighting designer Robert Wierzel, who has more than 30 PlayMakers credits, has returned to Chapel Hill after nearly three decades away from the theater and opera scene here. His work demonstrates just how much storytelling can be accomplished without words.

The acting is strongest when it resists the temptation to inflate the already monumental material. Dawson Boudreaux brings passion and credibility to Polyneikes, Oedipus' grown son, who seeks his father's help in preventing Thebes from falling under his brother's rule. Jeffrey Blair Cornell, a PlayMakers veteran of 30 years who is appearing in his final season, gives Kreon the formal precision and authority expected of a royal statesman -- and of the man who assumes leadership of Thebes after Oedipus is expelled.

Nike Imoru stars as Theseus in the world premiere of Carey Perloff's Oedipus: King/Colonus (photo by HuthPhoto)

As Oedipus, Tony Award®-nominated veteran Michael Hayden finds the difficult balance the role requires: pride, passion, judgment and, ultimately, profound self-disgust. His Oedipus is not merely a legendary tragic figure but a man struggling to understand whether he is guilty of crimes he never intended to commit.

Nike Imoru, who has been part of Carey Perloff's creative journey, along with Coulter, for more than five years, brings regal self-control to the role of Theseus. Her authority and dignity recall, in the best sense, Angela Bassett's Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: powerful without being theatrical about her power, commanding without sacrificing compassion.

Oedipus: King/Colonus cannot make an ancient story unfamiliar. Nor should it try. Its achievement lies elsewhere -- in allowing a modern audience to encounter this extraordinarily old tragedy as live theater: surrounded by stone, ritual, music, darkness, and human voices. In that setting, the familiar story becomes less a lesson from a textbook than what it has always been -- a meditation on fate, responsibility, suffering, and the unknowable consequences of our actions.

Carey Perloff's Oedipus: King/Colonus stars Dawson Boudreaux as Polyneikes and Nike Imoru as Teresias (photo by HuthPhoto)

OEDIPUS: KING/COLONUS (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, 20, and 23-27), a world premiere adapted and directed by Carey Perloff, with original music by David Coulter, and starring (in alphabetical order) Dawson Boudreaux as Polyneikes, Jim Bray as Old Shepherd, Jeffrey Blair Cornell as Kreon, Samuel Ray Gates as Messenger from Corinth/Death Messenger, Michael Hayden as Oedipus, Nike Imoru as Teresias/Theseus, Tia James as Jocasta/Stranger, Caroline Marques as Ismene, Trevele Morgan as Priest, and Celeste Pelletier as Antigone, plus a Chorus that includes Jeff Aguiar, Dawson Boudreaux, Jim Bray, Julia Gibson as Chorus Leader/Second Messenger Chorus, Nike Imoru, Delaney Jackson, Tia James, and Adam Moskowitz (PlayMakers Repertory Company in the Paul Green Theatre in UNC-Chapel Hill's Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art). DIGITAL PLAYBILLS: https://online.fliphtml5.com/gtelh/Oedipus-Playbill/#p=1 (Desktop Version) or https://playmakersrep.org/playbill-for-oedipus-king-colonus/ (Mobile Version). TRAILER: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1052459224087646 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmwjETqQ9KA. FEATURETTE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssR42qUmVSE. PRESENTER: https://playmakersrep.org/, https://www.facebook.com/playmakersrep, https://www.instagram.com/playmakersrep/, https://www.tiktok.com/@playmakersrep, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayMakers_Repertory_Company, https://x.com/playmakersrep, and https://www.youtube.com/@PlayMakersRepertory. 2026-27 SEASON: https://playmakersrep.org/season/2026-2027/. PRC BLOG: https://playmakersrep.org/about-us/our-blog/. VENUE: https://playmakersrep.org/about-us/paul-green-theatre and https://unchistory.web.unc.edu/building-narratives/paul-green-theatre/. DIRECTIONS/PARKING: https://playmakersrep.org/visitor-info/directions-and-parking/. CAREY PERLOFF (Washington, DC-born director and playwright, nee Carey Elizabeth Perloff): https://careyperloff.com/, https://playmakersrep.org/?artists=carey-perloff, https://www.spectra.theater/explore/artist/8f30fb3a-7205-41d8-96f2-6331fa813322, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carey_Perloff. RELATED EVENTS: For details, click here and scroll down to the Special Performances section. NOTE: Arts Access, Inc. of Raleigh will audio-describe and American Sign Language (ASL) interpret the show's 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23rd, performance. (For the best view of the ASL interpreters, please contact the PRC Box Office at 919-962-7529 or prcboxoffice@unc.edu) TICKETS: $20 and up, plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: 919-962-7529 or prcboxoffice@unc.edu. PLEASE DONATE TO: PlayMakers Repertory Company.

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