VIRTUAL TOUR
Scene Six: What's Going On Offstage?
Following a Choral Ode to the utter futility of life, [Catharsis] a Bureaucrat enters to relate the sad doings inside the palace. [Noises Off] She tells how Jocasta hanged herself and how Oedipus, upon discovering her, took her brooch pins and stabbed out his eyes. The maimed Oedipus emerges; the Chorus becomes despondent. [Fickle Fate] They wonder why their king would blind himself rather than commit suicide. [Best Laid Plan] Oedipus thinks they don’t know what they’re talking about, but agrees it might have been better had he died as a child. [Thanks, But No Thanks]
Creon enters with the son and daughter of Oedipus: Polyneices and Antigone. Polyneices, sullen, is fresh from a fight with his brother, Eteocles. Antigone rushes to her father, who worries about his daughters’ fate. Oedipus requests that Creon banish him. Creon agrees, but insists on getting Apollo’s approval first. [Here Comes Creon Again, Again]
Oedipus frets for the future of his two girls. Creon tells Oedipus to go inside and let go of his daughter(s) (Antigone). [All My Child(ren)] Despite his wretchedness, Oedipus refuses, a subtle but unmistakable victory for this most human of heroes. Creon exits with Polyneices. As they leave, the Chorus bemoans the fate of their ruined king. [The Antigone and The Exiting]
Alone, Antigone helps Oedipus to his hobbling feet. They depart.
THE END
