Robert Icke’s modern adaptation of ‘Oedipus’, now playing at Broadway’s Studio 54, reimagines the ancient tragedy as a high-stakes political thriller.

With Mark Strong reprising his Olivier-nominated Oedipus and Lesley Manville returning as Jocasta, critics are weighing in on a production that swaps prophecy for pulse-pounding suspense.

Here’s what they had to say:

1. Time Out New York (Adam Feldman) – 4 out of 5 stars
   Feldman describes Icke’s adaptation as “continuously engaging and smart,” praising the strong ensemble including Bougere, Patel and Mesa-Perez. He does point out that the play “runs up against a wall … in trying to make the story function without gods and fates.”

2. Los Angeles Times (Charles McNulty) 
McNulty focuses on Strong’s performance, noting the character’s “boyish vulnerability” beneath his polished political persona. He applauds how Oedipus’s intellectual clarity and commitment to truth are preserved even in this modern spin. 

3. Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones) 
Jones writes that he “can’t recall ever being as riveted at a Greek tragedy,” and admires how the production remains “remarkably true” to the core of the original while rendering it with contemporary speech and relevance.

4. The New York Times (Alexis Soloski) 
Soloski calls the work “slick, sleek, mordant … a spine-tingler” and affirms that while some purists might balk at the shift from mythic catastrophe to political thriller, the result is nonetheless “electrifying.”

5. The Wall Street Journal (Charles Isherwood) 
Isherwood notes that while he expected a more ambiguous ending, Icke opts for a traditional gruesome climax. He finds the earlier part of the production “effective, affecting and strictly naturalistic,” even if the finish he views as more “Grand Guignol” than subtle.

If you haven’t already, run don’t walk to get tickets! On at Studio 54 until February 8th 2026.