I won't have people putting words in my mouth. But that's literally what speechwriting is!

The latest in an occasional series of theatre reviews...

Oedipus : Wyndham's Theatre

I picked this because it has Mark Strong and Lesley Manville in it, but my previous visit with an ancient Greek play went a lot better than I was expecting, so I had reasonable levels of expectation for this.

Coming in to the theatre, it wasn't giving us any clues as to what we were expecting - and as the lights went down, a film started up against the curtain which showed Oedipus (Mark Strong) out in the final stages of an electoral campaign, making all the sorts of promises that politicians do until he exits off the side of the film - to then enter on the side of the stage as the curtain rises.

And basically we spend the next two hours (with no interval) in the company of Oedipus, his wife Jocasta (Lesley Manville) and their family and friends as they await the election result - and, during that time, certain very unfortunate facts about the past come to light.

And, if somehow you're not aware of what those unfortunate facts are then you're in for a proper treat here - I imagine the first performances (in 429 BC) left the audience spellbound and I do hope the first reviews were careful to avoid spoilers. Knowing what's coming does somewhat lessen the impact, but it still does a good job of building the tension up nicely and there were several gasps from audience, particularly towards the end.

Both Mark and Lesley are terrific in this - a lot of the second half just features the two of them on stage and their horror as details become clear is palpable. There's a surprisingly large cast supporting them - everyone does a fine job but Phia Saban as Antigone, their daughter, caught the eye most for me as a wise head on young shoulders with June Watson as Merope, Oedipus's mother, also impressing with her grand matriarchal nature.

I'm not aware of the original play, but this feels like a good contemporary version with several aspects working very well. As the play progresses, the set is slowly dismantled around the cast (because the lease on their campaign office is up and they no longer require it) and a clock displays a countdown - ostensibly to the election result, but of course it also coincides with the denouement, which arrives with just Mark and Lesley on an almost empty stage which is very effective.

This is obviously quite a theatrical play so you have to be in the mood for that and it also requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but the setting and (particularly) the performances are excellent. I really enjoyed it with Mark and Lesley deserving all the plaudits they've received for this and let's also give Robert Icke, the writer and director, a name-check as well for a job very well done. Limited tickets are still available and I can also highly recommend the view from the cheap seats in this theatre if you are able to get anything up there.

Waiting For Godot - Not as much of a slog as it could have been
The Power of 13 - An enjoyable play in an excellent theatre