Watching Oedipus the king was not the first time I encountered the story of Oedipus. However, it is a different experience when the play is read aloud to you then when you read it to yourself. The actors brought life to each of the characters in Sophocles play and helped create a better understanding of the story. Oedipus the King is the second stage reading I’ve been too and I liked the other one better for a couple of reasons. The lack of  costume and the background in the staged reading  did not help me imagine the setting took away from the performance in my opinion. It is harder to imagine ancient Greece when the characters are dressed in regular clothing. Otherwise I thought the play was good. The characters projected their voices and you could easily hear the emotion they were trying to portray. My favorite part was when Oedipus decided to punish himself after realizing what he has done. From where I was sitting in the audience the red paint on his face actually concealed his eyes making it seem like he really blinded himself.

One of the main themes in Oedipus the King by Sophocles is destiny. Oedipus was told by a prophet what would happen during his lifetime and although he tried to avoid fulfilling the prophecy he still did it unknowingly. Oedipus was almost desperate to find out who had killed Laius, the king before him, against his wives’ wishes. He talked to a prophet, a messenger and a shepherd and as he gained more information on Laius death he realizes that all these stories sound familiar to him. As he pieces the stories together he realizes that he was the one who killed his father Laius and married his mother. He feels as though he’s committed the greatest sin there is and begs to be killed. The story of Oedipus helps demonstrate that your destiny cannot be changed.