[2] The Infernal Machine, as translated by Albert Bermel, was first played at the Phoenix Theatre, New York, on February 3, 1958, under the direction of Herbert Berghof, with scenery by Ming Cho Lee, costumes by Alvin Colt, and lighting by Tharon Musser.
The Voice presents a brief prologue and information about events that have occurred before the action of the play takes place.
At a crossroads, Oedipus comes to blows with other travelers and unwittingly kills his father, Laius, King of Thebes.
After conquering the Sphinx, Oedipus enters Thebes and claims the prize of marrying Queen Jocasta.
The Sphinx, disguised as a beautiful girl, and Anubis sit in the outskirts of Thebes arguing about whether they have heard the first or second trumpet call, signalling that the gates of the city have been closed.
As proof of his victory, Oedipus takes the fused head of Anubis and the body of the Sphinx to Thebes to claim his reward.
Oedipus has a nightmare of Anubis attacking him in his sleep, and Jocasta soothes him in an ironically maternal fashion.
A messenger from Corinth brings Oedipus news that his father, King Polybus, has died, and his mother Queen Merope is too senile to understand.
The New York Times referred to The Infernal Machine as having taken "characters familiar from Greek tragedy off their pedestals and wittily humanized them while remaining true to Sophocles's plot.
Oedipus, instead of a tragic hero, is a cocky, virginal youth whose arrogance is matched by his colossal naïveté.
A vain, insecure woman obsessed with age, Jocasta has an eye for handsome young men, while Oedipus is drawn to older women who will cradle him like a child.
Feynman holds, "In constructing this new version, Cocteau drew chiefly, but not solely, upon the original myth.