Roland Schimmelpfennig

In Thebes, after the end of Pentheus and the seizure of power by Labdakos, another grandson of Kadmos, a period full of violent excesses begins. Finally, Laios, the son of Labdakos, is brought back from exile and enthroned. But he does not come alone, the young Chrysippus from Pisa accompanies him. Is he the reason for the childlessness of the new royal couple Laios and Iokaste or is it the oracle of the seer Pythia? The next creature appears at the gates of the city: the Sphinx, an animal creature made up of a lion, a woman and a bird, which drives the city into murderous madness with its singing and chattering. In a highly poetic and multi-perspective monologue that gives voice to the various characters and myths about Oedipus' father, the production explores the question of what could have motivated the couple Laios and Iocaste to father an offspring despite the religious prohibition. How much responsibility do the parents bear for the fate of their child Oedipus, whom they wanted to make disappear in the mountains immediately after birth? How much guilt is passed on from generation to generation and how much freedom does the individual have to free themselves from it?
(Announcement Deutsches Schauspielhaus)