From the opening line, "You will kill your father and marry your mother" which was spoken in dull, hollow tones by Richard C. Sullivan '35, from behind the hideous mask of the Narrator, to the final peal of thunder, supplied by the machinations of Whitney Cook, Jr. '36, the Dramatic Club's rendering of Jean Cocteau's "La Machine Infernale" (in translation) at the Repertory Theatre is a fine bit of technique and dramatization.
Edward Massey '15, director, can be proud of the results which he has obtained from the corps of actors supplied by the Dramatic Club and the Radcliffe Idler Club. William M. Hunt, 2nd '37, turned in a very creditable performance as Oedipus, the Theban King who suffered divine retribution for the murder of his father and subsequent incest. He was well supported by Jean Goodale, of Radcliffe, who played the part of Jocasta, Queen of Thebes, and mother and wife of Oedipus, and by Arthur Szathmary '37 who took the role of the head priest, Tiresias.
The minor roles in the play were well up to the standard set by the lead parts. The performance of Robert L. McKee '37 as a drunkon man who comes into the royal chambers as an unconscious prophet of fate, was particularly noticeable, as was that of Munro L. Lyeth '37 who was a young soldier reporting the appearance of a ghost to the queen.
The set for the production was the same for all four scenes, with slight alterations, and represented the battle-ments of Thebes with bare stone stops leading to the walk below the parapet. This gave the whole production a classical and severe aspect, matching well the tone of the play. In general the whole production was done with the skill of professionals.
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Russian Ways