Greek Theatre Now has announced it will present Sophocles’ Oedipus the King in Canberra over the Easter long weekend in April, replacing the previously announced production of Euripides’ The Trojan Women.

The most famous of all Greek tragedies, in which the intellectually brilliant king finds out who he really is, Oedipus will later travel to Perth for the King’s Birthday long weekend in September.

“Oedipus is the pinnacle of ancient Greek theatre. It’s right that we do it in our first three years,” artistic director Michael J. Smith says.

Smith has previously directed outdoor productions of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten and Handel’s Saul at Mica Grange Sculpture Garden in Victoria.

The play is a kind of prequel to Antigone – Antigone is Oedipus’ daughter – which was staged in April this year at the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

The connection with Perth, through the Greek Consulate there, is that WA schools will be studying Oedipus in 2026, Smith says.

Greek Theatre Now is running an audition-preparation course on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm-9.30pm, at Tooms Place, Lyons (Scout Hall), from December 4 in the lead-up to auditions.

Auditions will be held on December 6 and 7. Further information here