Rose Theatre Kingston 26 June 2008

The Burial at Thebes 26 June 2008
A new version of Sophocles'Antigone translated by Seamus Heaney
Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company

It's not often you get the chance to revisit an area of life you've not thought about for thirty years, so when I was offered low cost tickets for this play, which I studied at school, I was keen to go.

Heaney's translation is much more accessible than the version I studied, and I was surprised how quickly I was drawn into the drama of King Creon and his wayward niece Antigone, with arguments about the responsibilities and limitations of power and what happens when you offend the natural order of things.

I was reminded that for the ancient Greeks, tragic dramas were the contemporary soap operas, attracting large crowds with action packed stories designed to induce pity and fear before final resolution and emotional release ("catharsis"). The opening scene with Antigone and her sister arguing the rights and wrongs of defying the king in order to bury their brother, in defiance of the law, was an ancient version of East Enders sisters Roxie and Ronnie having a ruck, with the gods replacing "family innit" as the natural order that must be obeyed.

This story is the sequel to the tragedy of Oedipus, the prince who killed his father and married his mother. They had four children together! Antigone is his daughter/sister and this is the playing out of the family tragedy over succeeding generations. For by the end of it, all the main characters are dead except King Creon, who loses his wife and son as well as his nephews and nieces.

It was a treat to see so many people on stage (12 or 14). While Antigone's role resembles an argumentative teenager (albeit with lofty themes) at times, there was no doubting the emotional power and truth of both her and Creon's performances. The songs were beautifully delivered, relieving tension, changing pace and moving the action onward. An atmospheric production which I found moving and satisfying.

This piece first published by scattered gardener 27 June on Scattered Garden blog.