Showing @ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 12 Oct @ 19:30

Sophocles’ Oedipus Plays make up the seminal Greek tragedy in our canon. Such was the impact of this story, that Freud’s most controversial theory on the subconscious took its name, the Oedipal Complex and since then this story has underpinned our history of psychology as much as theatre. Rather than define him as a tragic hero, comedy theatre company Spymonkey show Oedipus as a victim of bad luck in their sexually charged romp through Greek tragedy, featuring James Bond and some questionable sequined boots.

Sophocles’ story of Oedipus – in which the eponymous character unknowingly murders his father and proceeds to marry his mother – has been adapted and retold many times, but never quite like this. The four-strong cast multi-role their way through the text, using slapstick, songs, monologues and Morris dancing to give it a 21st Century twist.

Emma Rice’s production starts with a note from the cast, disheartened and disgruntled by a review of a previous production, pledging to make this a serious piece of theatre, a cutting edge revival of a classic. And so they do. With original music, including the fantastic Leprosy Isn’t Funny, and a rack of outrageous, horrendous and hilarious costumes, the quintessential Greek tragedy is met with the best of British comedy. The jokes are just long enough to crack the straightest of faces, recurring throughout like motifs. Inner monologues from the actors at key points question the purpose of the play and their roles, in both the play and in the wider world. Oedipus is complex but Spymonkey break it down to its primitive roots: man’s downfall because of his overreaching, epitomised in the opening scene in which Laius rapes his nephew Chrysippus, damning him and his family to the ruthless fate of the Gods and his inevitable death. Oedipussy turns Sophocles’ drama on its head, subverting the intense vulgarity with humour: it’s funny, ironic and in its own way, utterly tragic.

Follow Emma on Twitter @emmalhay