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My history with Antigone began lo these many years ago, when the fourth-grade class across the hall put on the play. Well, presumably a much foreshortened retelling of the story with the incest bits taken out, but otherwise it kept all the main ingredients: brother dead, King Creon decrees he will not be buried, sister Antigone buries him, King Creon argues with Antigone about duty to the state versus duty to the gods, Antigone kicks his ass in argument but he buries her alive, and then Antigone hangs herself and the king’s son who was Antigone’s fiance kills himself too and TOO LATE Creon realizes that he was WRONG.
For some reason people always think Antigone is a strange choice for a fourth grade class play, but my little fourth grade self was electrified. Defying the state for a higher morality! Speaking truth to power even at the cost of one’s own life! Burying her brother because love and duty are more powerful than fear… Strong meat for babes, but only on such meat do babes go strong.
From that day to this I’ve neither read nor watched the play, but I never forgot the story either, so of course when I saw that it was on National Theater I had to watch it. The clothes and furniture gesture at the 1940s – a good decade for a story about the conflict between state authority and a higher morality.
We set our scene in Thebes, where people are afraid to speak openly, where Antigone must meet her sister Ismene beyond the city gates to tell her that she means to bury their brother Polycleites, who died in a traitorous attack on Thebes. For this, Creon has decreed Polycleites will lie unburied for the dogs to eat, and anyone who buries him will be stoned to death.
Ismene is too frightened to help, but Antigone goes through with her plan regardless. She is duly arrested, and brought before the king (who is, incidentally, her uncle), who also has Ismene arrested, at which point the sisters argue about whether or not Ismene should die too. Ismene is on team “let me die with you” and Antigone is on team “you refused to help bury Polycleites so you don’t DESERVE to die, in both senses of the word deserve!”
“These women are neurotic,” King Creon declares, which got a big laugh from the audience. (Side note, but one benefit of watching with an audience – either in a cinema/theater or in a filmed play – is that the rest of the audience will pick up on funny bits I miss on my own. I first watched Winter’s Bone on my own and loved it so much I watched it again when it was shown in the college cinema and was astonished that people found parts of it funny.)
King Creon decides to let Ismene go, but remains inflexible on his original decree: Antigone buried Polycleites, so Antigone must die. Antigone tells him that she obeyed the law of the gods, which is higher and more ancient than his laws. Creon tries to convince her of the necessity of obeying the state at all times, especially for women for whom obedience is so important.
This is the first National Theater play I’ve seen where all the usually male parts are in fact played by men, which may simply reflect a change in their practice between 2012 (when this play was put on) and today. But it’s the right choice here, given the fact that Antigone, in Creon’s view, has sinned doubly, as a subject of the Theban king but also as a woman. It matters that the face of power is male, that all but one of Creon’s counselors/office workers are male – that the male counselors/office workers are the chorus, while the one woman does not speak.
(I would love to know how much of this focus on gender in Antigone is in Sophocles and how much is drawn out by Don Taylor, the translator of this version.)
I must confess that this version did not rock my world like the fourth grade class play, simply because you can only see a Greek tragedy for the first time once. Further viewing just can’t kick you in the gut the same way. But this is an excellent version nonetheless. Highly recommended if you need more Greek tragedy in your life.
For some reason people always think Antigone is a strange choice for a fourth grade class play, but my little fourth grade self was electrified. Defying the state for a higher morality! Speaking truth to power even at the cost of one’s own life! Burying her brother because love and duty are more powerful than fear… Strong meat for babes, but only on such meat do babes go strong.
From that day to this I’ve neither read nor watched the play, but I never forgot the story either, so of course when I saw that it was on National Theater I had to watch it. The clothes and furniture gesture at the 1940s – a good decade for a story about the conflict between state authority and a higher morality.
We set our scene in Thebes, where people are afraid to speak openly, where Antigone must meet her sister Ismene beyond the city gates to tell her that she means to bury their brother Polycleites, who died in a traitorous attack on Thebes. For this, Creon has decreed Polycleites will lie unburied for the dogs to eat, and anyone who buries him will be stoned to death.
Ismene is too frightened to help, but Antigone goes through with her plan regardless. She is duly arrested, and brought before the king (who is, incidentally, her uncle), who also has Ismene arrested, at which point the sisters argue about whether or not Ismene should die too. Ismene is on team “let me die with you” and Antigone is on team “you refused to help bury Polycleites so you don’t DESERVE to die, in both senses of the word deserve!”
“These women are neurotic,” King Creon declares, which got a big laugh from the audience. (Side note, but one benefit of watching with an audience – either in a cinema/theater or in a filmed play – is that the rest of the audience will pick up on funny bits I miss on my own. I first watched Winter’s Bone on my own and loved it so much I watched it again when it was shown in the college cinema and was astonished that people found parts of it funny.)
King Creon decides to let Ismene go, but remains inflexible on his original decree: Antigone buried Polycleites, so Antigone must die. Antigone tells him that she obeyed the law of the gods, which is higher and more ancient than his laws. Creon tries to convince her of the necessity of obeying the state at all times, especially for women for whom obedience is so important.
This is the first National Theater play I’ve seen where all the usually male parts are in fact played by men, which may simply reflect a change in their practice between 2012 (when this play was put on) and today. But it’s the right choice here, given the fact that Antigone, in Creon’s view, has sinned doubly, as a subject of the Theban king but also as a woman. It matters that the face of power is male, that all but one of Creon’s counselors/office workers are male – that the male counselors/office workers are the chorus, while the one woman does not speak.
(I would love to know how much of this focus on gender in Antigone is in Sophocles and how much is drawn out by Don Taylor, the translator of this version.)
I must confess that this version did not rock my world like the fourth grade class play, simply because you can only see a Greek tragedy for the first time once. Further viewing just can’t kick you in the gut the same way. But this is an excellent version nonetheless. Highly recommended if you need more Greek tragedy in your life.
