Greek tragedy: do Hollywood stars have a place in the classics?
Rami Malek and Brie Larson take leading roles in two Sophocles tragedies – but both miss the mark

The trend for "plonking Hollywood stars into classics in the West End" has never looked more misconceived, said Robert Gore-Langton in The Mail on Sunday. Last week, revivals of two Sophocles dramas that have been shocking audiences for millennia opened in London.
'Horribly misguided'
In "Elektra", Brie Larson – best known for playing the superhero Captain Marvel – takes the title role, while Rami Malek (who starred in "Bohemian Rhapsody"), does the same in "Oedipus". This starry casting guaranteed publicity and early ticket sales; but alas, these two Greek tragedies have "never looked so bonkers – or less tragic". Sporting a buzz-cut and a punk T-shirt, Larson gives a "one-note grump of a performance". As Oedipus, Malek "stands about in slacks, looking spaced out and speaking in an American drawl that's even more wooden than Joe Biden's".
This "Elektra" is horribly "misguided", said Dominic Maxwell in The Times. Larson is a "gifted" performer, but she's let down by Daniel Fish's "gimmicky", "avant-garde" production, which also leaves co-star Stockard Channing (as Clytemnestra) struggling. In this "silly" production, the avenging heroine is little more than a "raging bore", snarling into a handheld microphone.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A 'hodgepodge mess'
Canadian poet Anne Carson's new translation is a redeeming feature, said Susannah Clapp in The Observer: caustic, forceful, and "filling the air with memorable images without losing the pulse of action". But the evening is baffling – more like a rehearsal room experiment than a show.
"Oedipus" fares better, said Clive Davis in The Times. Ella Hickson's adaptation lacks "poetic heft"; and Malek is stiff and unregal. But the staging, which features "mesmerising dance sequences" in place of a chorus, does conjure an "elemental", believable world.
Hickson presents the play as "a parable of religious delusion", said Claire Allfree in The Daily Telegraph: the people think that only the gods can save them. It is an interesting take, in this era of "populist leadership and febrile ideological conviction", but nothing in this production is properly driven through; it is "a hodgepodge mess of a night".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Norway's windfall: should it go to Ukraine?
Talking Point Oil-based wealth fund is intended 'for future generations of Norwegians', but Putin's war poses an existential threat
By The Week UK Published
-
5 government-backed cartoons about the White House Tesla sale
Cartoons Artists take on Cybertrump, Trumpmobile, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Is Donald Trump a Russian agent?
The Explainer 'We have to consider the possibility that President Trump is a Russian asset' former Tory minister Graham Stuart tweeted last week. Do we?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sweet date and sour tamarind sea bass recipe
The Week Recommends Combination of flavours makes a perfect lunch
By The Week UK Published
-
Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350 – an 'intense and betwitching' show
The Week Recommends 'Blockbuster' National Gallery exhibition explores whether Siena was truly 'the birthplace of the Renaissance'
By The Week UK Published
-
6 spacious homes for multi-generational families
Feature Featuring a 1900 Jacobean-style mansion in Massachusetts and a 22.5-acre compound in California
By The Week US Last updated
-
The Seagull: Cate Blanchett leads 'powerhouse ensemble' in Chekhov classic
The Week Recommends Modern reboot has 'blown away the dust' from 1895 drama
By The Week UK Published
-
Black Bag: Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett star in 'punchy' thriller
The Week Recommends All-star Steven Soderbergh spy film is 'cool and confident'
By The Week UK Published
-
Get Millie Black: a gritty Jamaica-set police procedural
Scripted by Booker Prize-winner Marlon James, the series touches upon the homophobia still prevalent in Jamaica
By The Week UK Published
-
Road trip: New England’s maple syrup season
Feature New England is serving up maple syrup in delicious and unexpected ways
By The Week US Published
-
Music reviews: Mdou Moctar, Panda Bear, and Tate McRae
Feature “Tears of Injustice,” “Sinister Grift,” and “So Close to What”
By The Week US Published