Stage Design
Oedipus by Sophocles
Reflecting the geometry of the unusual sixteen-sided theater for which it was designed, the setting for this Buddhist-inflected Oedipus was imagined as a temple shrine with the audience seated on cushions – shoes left outside the hall – in two tiers behind the chanting chorus. The ritual and iconography were Asian: incense, drums, bells, and lights established a mood of solemnity and deep communion. An opulent collage of gilded artifacts stacked on an altar above the playing area and the encircling walls embellished with illuminated images and fragments of text from the play completed the all-surrounding installation.