An interview with the sphinx

by Jack Matthews

In this provocative & immensely irritating comic play, the Sphinx from ancient Greece is interviewed in modern times as though she were a celebrity pop star. The problem is, she never answers any questions -- never directly anyway. Instead she prefers just dishing the dirt on everybody. ON "I never was exactly sure which one Homer was. I'm positive he wasn't the blind one, though; that was just a silly story they started telling a few centuries later". ON "Eddie was terribly conceited, you know … of course he was smart and handsome and, oh, just had a way of carrying himself that impressed everybody. In spite of his foot."Bit by bit the Interview learns that what happened in Greek legend didn't happen exactly the way Sophocles described it. Fortunately, the Sphinx offers the Interviewer another riddle ... if only he could figure out what exactly it is!Part Tom Stoppard, part Monty Python, part Oscar Wilde, this play by Jack Matthews combines philosophical paradoxes with fast-paced verbal pyrotechnics. It offers the perfect antidote to people who remembered ancient literature as nothing but stuffy and melodramatic characters with hard-to-pronounce names. In 2013 an audio version of this one act play was produced by Personville Press. This ebook contains the complete script used for the 2013 audio production plus another expanded two act version of the same play. This expanded two act version is titled "Dr. Freud and the Sphinx," and includes Florence Nightingale and Sigmund Freud characters (who serve as the Greek chorus).Playwright JACK MATTHEWS is the author of 10+ plays and 20+ books (including short stories, novels and essays). Winner of the Guggenheim, a play competition and several arts grants, Matthews has been anthologized widely, translated into several languages and nominated for a National Book Award. Matthews was distinguished professor of Fiction Writing at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio for over 4 decades."Mr. Matthews is a master of prose conversation and deadpan charm. He is ironic, cool, and shrewd, and he writes a lucid prose." (Tim O'Brien, New York Times)

52 pages, Unknown Binding

First published February 1, 1992

About the author

Jack Matthews was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and former professor. He published 7 novels, 7 collections of short stories, a novella, and
8 volumes of essays. He was an avid book collector, and many of his book finds served as a basis for his essays and the historical topics he explored in his fiction. His 1972 novel The Charisma Campaigns was nominated for the National Book Award.

Here's a long interview with Jack Matthews from 2010 .

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interview with the Sphynx is a gem if you understand the source material. The play by Jack Matthews follows a one-act structure following a man sitting in the dark attempting to interview a woman who won't give a straight answer to any questions. The woman is the Sphynx. The man is, well, that's a secret.

This is a great play for mythological history buffs, with plenty of jokes, references, and an amusing reveal at the end that can only be described as the purest form of tragic comedy. Lovers of wordplay will appreciate some of the arguments, and the voice cast does a good job as well. As described, or forewarned, if you prefer, the play is deeply irritating and I really appreciate the effort that went into making it so.

Thanks to Robert Nagle with Personville Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review, it was very much appreciated.

[Erin Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting one act play about an interviewer (Oedipus) interviewing the Sphinx about her life and times. The Sphinx is an enigma, she answers questions with questions and lists of words but never a solid answer. As the poor interviewer becomes more and more frustrated with her word play it is revealed to the audience that he is actually Oedipus although he is self unaware of this. He bristles at the Sphinx for calling him 'Eddie'. It is a very funny and clever play with lots of jaunty, fast paced dialog. If you like intellectual word play you will enjoy this listen. I would recommend checking out the wikipedia page on Oedipus before listening for a quick refresher on the greek myth this play is loosely based on. Recommended.