|
|
Conversation With a Sphinx
Author(s):
Maurice Valency
The scene is a mountain pass in ancient Greece, on the road to Thebes. The pass is guarded by a priestess from the temple of Hera, and by a sphinx who must ask a riddle of all who pass. If the traveler cannot solve the riddle he is hurled to his death, but if he can he is allowed to pass--and proceed to his doom. A young man approaches, and while the priestess pleads that he be allowed to turn back, or to pass unchallenged, the sphinx is adamant that the riddle must be posed. The priestess retires and the sphinx accosts the young man, Oedipus, who has come from Delphi, where he has consulted the oracle. At first he denies this, but the sphinx knows his story without his telling it--and foretells what lies ahead for him as well. In keeping with the casual, offhand mood of the play Oedipus attempts to treat these disclosures lightly, but inevitably he cannot. The riddle is asked, and solved, the sphinx vanishes forever, and Oedipus proceeds to the awful fate which the gods have ordained for him.
|
|
|
| Genre(s): | Not Available | | Time Period(s): | Not Available | | Play Type: | Play | | Runtime: | Not Available | | Acts: | Not Available | | Set Complexity: | Not Available | | Set Information: | Not Available | | Year First Published: | Not Available | | Total Characters: | 7 | | Male Characters: | 2 | | Female Characters: | 5 | | Androgynous Characters: | Not Available | | Minimum Cast: | Not Available | | Maximum Cast: | Not Available | | Cost: | FEE: $25 per performance
Royalty/cost information prone to change.
Please check with the publisher for the most accurate information. | | Publisher: | Dramatists Play Service
Click on the publisher's name above for additional information, including updated prices. | | ISBN: | Not Available |
|
