Antigone
Directed by Judith Jackson
This was a modern adaptation of the ancient Greek tragedy 'Antigone' written by Sophocles over two thousand years ago in 441BC. The play is part of a trilogy and tells the story of what happens to the children of King Oedipus in the city of Thebes. After a bitter civil war, his two sons have killed each other in battle. The new King, Creon, declares one brother, Eteocles, to be a hero honoured with a full military funeral and the other, Polynices, to be a traitor whose body must remain unburied. Antigone, their sister defies this edict and the advice of her sister, Ismene and goes out to bury the body. Creon has her arrested her and sentences her to death. Despite her pleas, the reasoning of his son (and Antigone's fiancee) Haemon, the prophesies of his advisor Teiresias and the arguments of his citizens, Creon remains subborn. When Antigone kills herself, this is closely followed by the suicides of his son and wife. Creon realises the error of his ways and the tragedy ends with his desperate, grief-stricken realisation of his own arrogance.
Our production was set in the round with a chorus on stage throughout and with modern music to echo their sentiments. It gave our audiences a powerful and intimate insight in to the themes of leadership, greed, family, love, democracy, debate, with many reflecting on how many of the issues resonated and still seemed relevant today,
Mornington Hall, 19th - 22nd February 2025
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NODA review highlights
CADOS’s February production of the ancient Greek tragedy Antigone was bold, ambitious and brilliant. It was with some trepidation that we arrived at Mornington Hall, not quite sure what to expect from Antigone and whether it would be ‘our sort of thing’. We left having had a superb theatrical experience which was absorbing, fascinating and uplifting. Presented in the round, with chairs on all sides, made the audience close to the action and immersed in the production. The large structure forming the playing area acted as the city, the forum, the hillside and the house of Creon.. The use of the music to give audio enhancements to the story was inspired. The chorus’s energetic and frenetic battling with light beams to Two Tribes was fantastic; the procession towards the cave to The Power of Love engrossing, the suicide of Antigone to Stay with Me poignant. The lighting design was tremendous with swift dramatic changes of mood. The four LED down lighters inside the cave changing from white to red worked well and highlighted the claustrophobic nature of that confined space.The use of the music to give audio enhancements to the story was inspired. The chorus’s energetic and frenetic battling with light beams to Two Tribes was fantastic; the procession towards the cave to The Power of Love engrossing, the suicide of Antigone to Stay with Me poignant. The lighting design was tremendous with swift dramatic changes of mood. The four LED down lighters inside the cave changing from white to red worked well and highlighted the claustrophobic nature of that confined space.The many sound effects added much to the overall production. The eerie singing before the play opened brought a sense of ancient Greece and then the Festival of Dionysus started with There’s No Business Like Show Business, two very dissimilar songs that gave us early indication of what was to follow. The songs, such as Tainted Love and This is a Man’s World, were chosen with care to add to the story and represent what was happening on stage. I applaud CADOS and all involved for a very special play that had so much excellent work contained within it. It was so good to see a Greek tragedy performed locally in a community hall and to provide the society members with the opportunity to explore this work and get to know it from within.
This was another highly creative piece of work that experimented, innovated and indulged in great raw drama. There were so many terrific ideas deployed. Above all this production made this potentially tricky Greek ancient play easy to follow and placed what fundamentally is a simple story, front and centre. The storyteller’s job is to convey its tale to others and, with pieces that are perceived as ‘difficult’, success can be determined by whether the listener understands and follows what they are being told. As storytellers the team get 10 out of 10.
In the words of the Black Eyed Peas, tonight was a good night.
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Paul Daynes, NODA Regional Representative