tragedy

"This is a real tragedy and I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims," he said.

Artists, he said, were "capable of recognising beauty even in the depths of pain, and of discerning hope in the tragedy of violence and war".

The consolation to this tragedy was its timing.

But “count no mortal happy till / he has passed the final limit of his life secure from pain,” as the chorus intones at the end of Sophocles’ tragedy.

With an impeccable supporting cast and sleek design, Mr. Icke’s “Oedipus” grips the attention firmly across two intermissionless hours, even as it departs from the stylized forms of Greek tragedy.