Sydney Hertz, Barnard College
Oedipus’ name, a Latin transliteration of the original Greek Οἰδίπους, translates as “swollen foot'' as a reflection of his clipped ankles. Early in his infancy, he is established as an impaired figure, and it is this impairment that brings upon recognition of the conflict of the play with his limp acting as intentional symbolism (Catenaccio). This paper will explore how a lens of disabled self-performance can transform Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus into a play of representation and reclamation. The employment of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus is an intentional choice as there is a significant inclusion of physically impaired figures in both the foreground, as in Oedipus and Tiresias, and the background, as in those affected by the plague, of the play.
At the outset, I will establish a theoretical framework through a close reading of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus. Through this, the disabled Oedipal body is revealed. For instance, a close reading of the last scene correlates with a component within the disabled framework known as “staring back.” Oedipus speaks, “Approach—deign to lay your hands on a wretched man—listen and fear not: my plague can rest on no other mortal” (Sophocles 1410 - 1415). One can picture him reaching towards the chorus in mock defiance of their disgust, daring to infect them. Though unable to see the chorus and therefore unable to literally stare back, his disregard of their fear and his invitation to touch invokes the same process.
The crucial concept, disabled self-performance, is theoretically founded within Rosemarie Garland Thomson’s conceptions of “staring back” and contextualization of disability as a representational system (Thomson 1998). As Thomson explains, it is the abled stare that transforms disability into a “grotesque spectacle” (Thomson 1997).
The paper will then discuss the utilization of theatrical performances by disabled actors to invoke “staring back” by controlling and redirecting the abled stare. Consequently, theatrical performance becomes a mode of reclamation along with representation. Here, the utilization of this medium, and other kinds of self-staged performance, allows for a pedagogical move within arts education that is inclusive of a disability model which exists beyond impairment (Eisenhauer).
As a creative supplement, this paper will include a filmed performance/workshop self-staged by a disabled cast and crew of notable excerpts of Oedipus Tyrannus, visually focusing on Oedipus’ limp as a catalyst to the drama. This staging is inspired by a similar performance previously done by Theater by the Blind in their 2005 production of Seneca’s Oedipus in which visually impaired actors focus and transform Oedipus’ blindness. The aim of this essay and performance is to further a theoretical framework through which ancient performance intersects with disabled self-performance in order to center disabled representation and reclamation.