Wole Soyinka, 1986 Nobel Prize winner for Literature and endowed chair of creative writing at UNLV's Institute of Modern Letters, will direct his own adaptation of Sophocles' "Oedipus at Colonus" during the XI International Meeting on Ancient Greek Drama in Delphi, Greece July 5-12. The play will be produced by the Nevada Conservatory Theatre (NCT), a professional company housed in UNLV's Judy Bayley Theatre.
This version of Oedipus at Colonus is set on an island off the Australian coast and is woven around the recent standoff that occurred between a boatload of Afghan refugees and the Australian government, which denied the passengers sanctuary. The standoff lasted weeks and received worldwide coverage. Other governments and human rights bodies intervened. The refugees went on a hunger strike and, at one stage, marines from the Australian navy boarded the ship.
In this adaptation, 'Oedipus' is the patriarch of the group, a small mountain tribe near the southern border of Afghanistan that had lived a near-independent existence for centuries, retaining their customs and forms of worship.
"Their history has been one of wandering, settling, uprooting and wandering yet again, ever since they escaped as slaves from the salt-mines of the Tigris, taking with them their gods," Soyinka said. "The crime of which 'Oedipus' is guilty is the same, committed in all innocence, but the circumstances that led to the crime are different, and of a much more antique origin, rooted in an incident of their slave days."
The NCT received a $60,000 grant from the European Cultural Center of Delphi to produce Soyinka's adaptation. In addition, the organization provided 25 round-trip tickets to Athens, hotel and meal accommodations. NCT also received a $30,000 Planning Initiative Grant from UNLV to help produce the play.
"We appreciate President Harter's generosity and are grateful to her for providing these funds," said Robert Brewer, managing director of NCT. "Dr. Harter has always supported the performing arts and this is yet another example of that support."
"We are very excited about Wole Soyinka's new adaptation of 'Oedipus at Colonus,' and we were pleased to help him and the NCT present it in Greece in July," UNLV President Carol C. Harter said. "This event is a wonderful opportunity to bring international awareness to UNLV's outstanding theater and creative writing programs."
"In a time when professional theatres are having a difficult time existing, it speaks volumes that UNLV is taking the lead in developing a professional theatre, NCT," said Jeffrey Koep, dean of the College of Fine Arts. "In a time when the world is in crisis, it speaks volumes that NCT will be presenting an adaptation of a centuries old play that deals with the current world issues of intolerance, violence and inhumanity. Now, more than ever, the world needs to hear and experience the words of Sophocles and Soyinka."
John Iacovelli, a nationally acclaimed set designer and UNLV graduate, will design the set. The cast, crew and staff involve 30 artists: 12 UNLV acting students, seven Nigerian actors, three UNLV tech students and eight UNLV faculty and professional artists.
