Why is Oedipus considered a revival?

Yes, it is adapted from a very old play and it is a version of a story that has been told many times.

But - Robert Icke truly built that script from the ground up and wrote it from scratch in a way that is substantially different from any other adaptation or translation of the Greek play. Having seen the production twice, I truly find it to be an original work - does the fact that it's an adaptation automatically mean revival? It feels as though this newly-written script, which is not at all a direct translation of the original play, and which puts it into a very new context with new stakes and new plot elements, as well as majorly expanding the role of Antigone when compared to the original text, is not "reviving" the play in a traditional sense.

With all of this stated, this version of the show does not feel like it should fall under the "classics" rule, and certainly has not been widely performed in the past - only its 2018 premiere in the Netherlands, the West End run, and Broadway. It is not unusual for an original work to have a regional production, first major production, then Broadway transfer and still be considered original.

I just don't buy that this particular script/production should qualify as a revival given how remarkably different it is from other versions of Oedipus. Curious to hear opinions on the subject.

Updated On: 5/9/26 at 01:04 PM

I asked the same question in the 2025-2026 Broadway Season post a few months ago. Then I came around to the idea of it being a revival. Pasting my answer below:

2025-2026 Broadway Season
Jan 1 2026, 01:18:20 PM

I have come around to Oedipus being a revival. These classic non-English plays almost always get a new translation when produced on Broadway, and we can’t call each one a new play just because it’s the first time that specific translation is staged. Similar examples include Uncle Vanya (new translation by Heidi Schreck) and A Doll’s House (new translation by Amy Herzog) from a few years ago. Both were considered revivals.

This Oedipus does change a lot of plot details

Is there a single moment or even a snippet of text in Icke's Oedipus that could be considered translated or adapted from Sophocles? I don't believe they share any moments of overlap at all.

It does make you think about if they actually campaigned to be a revival, thinking it a more sure path to victory, but not prepared for the success of other play revivals

Liberation has been the frontrunner for Best Play basically since it's been announced, and everyone has been expecting it to win the Pulitzer since it premiered last year, while Giant wont Best New Play at the Oliviers, so I suppose producers thought winning over Becky Shaw and Death of a Salesman was more likely---though I don't think that's necessarily true right now, and maybe people didn't except those two revivials to be as outstanding as they are.

Generally speaking, because folks might have considered Oedipus--as an adaptation--as something closer to a revival than a "new" play, producers might have seen it as a safer route to have it compete with actual revivals, where it can potentially stand out for being more of a reinvention.