Marina Carr's new double bill at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin reimagines Sophocles and Euripides with lavish scale, mordant humour, and a fresh interrogation of power and prophecy. The two plays, The Boy and The God and His Daughter, draw on the Theban cycle of myths about Oedipus, Jocasta, and their children.
The production features a cast of 16, with director Caitríona McLaughlin and set designer Cordelia Chisholm creating a majestic staging. Shimmering silver curtains, a raised stone slab, and a suspended ceiling demarcate the palace of Thebes and the gods' realm, while mirrored projections and rippling lighting add ominous tones.
Jocasta, played by Eileen Walsh, is the protagonist in both plays. In The Boy, the central drama focuses on the shocked realisation by Jocasta and Oedipus that they have fulfilled the prophecy they tried to thwart. The second play, The God and His Daughter, follows Jocasta and the blind Oedipus into exile, where their relationship curdles into mutual recrimination.
The gods are portrayed as decadent, pampered creatures, played with comedic effect by Catherine Walsh, Amy Conroy, and Jolly Abraham. Carr's ironic humour returns, reminding audiences that figures of fun can wield frightening amounts of power.
