(Chris Wiegand’s article appeared in the Guardian, 3/17. Photo: From left: Jordan Scowen (Eteocles), Mark Strong (Oedipus), and Lesley Manville (Jocasta) in Oedipus. Photograph: Manuel Harlan. West End.)
Other winners include Francesca Amewudah-Rivers for Romeo & Juliet, Danny Sapani as King Lear and Giant playwright Mark Rosenblatt
A modern-day version of Oedipus, which turned Sophocles’ tragic leader into a politician awaiting election results, has won three prizes at the Critics’ Circle theatre awards. Robert Icke won best director for the production (which he adapted), with Mark Strong named best actor and Lesley Manville best actress. All three are up for Olivier awards next month.
Receiving ecstatic reviews, Oedipus became a hot ticket at Wyndham’s theatre after previous runs using actors from Internationaal Theater Amsterdam at the Edinburgh festival and in the Netherlands.
The other victorious actors at the awards, voted for by professional theatre critics who are members of the Critics’ Circle, were Francesca Amewudah-Rivers with her West End debut and Danny Sapani for his King Lear. Amewudah-Rivers was named best newcomer for her performance as Juliet, opposite Tom Holland, in Jamie Lloyd’s version of Romeo & Juliet at the Duke of York’s theatre. Sapani was recognised with the award for best Shakespearean performance; his Lear was directed by Yaël Farber at the Almeida.
