Antigone at the ADC Theatre

這一次是幫cambridgetheatrereview寫一篇 Antigone的review。這個劇本是古希臘時期的Sophocles寫的一部悲劇。主角為Antigone。她的名字有兩個部份，第一個部份為anti，意思為oppose，第二個部份為gony，意思為corner或是angle。所以兩個合在一起為opposing the angle。gony也有另一個解釋為gone，也就是後來拉丁文的genus，或者是birth，尤其是noble birth的意思。所以合在一起可解釋為anti-birth，也就是anti-motherhood。

Antigone依據希臘傳說為Oedipus跟他的母親Jocasta生的女兒。Oedipus的故事應該大家比較耳熟能詳(就是殺父娶母那個Oedipus)。她的哥哥Polynices是Thebes的叛國賊，所以依照當時的法律，Polynices不能夠依正常的方式入殮。依據Sophocles寫的兩部悲劇，Oedipus at Colonus以及本部Antigone，這個故事發生的年代為Oedipus因殺父娶母事件被放逐之後。Oedipus的兩個兒子Polynice以及Eteocles本來應該輪流統治Thebes，但是Eteocles不願意跟Polynice一起分享王位，所以Polynice離開Thebes，號召軍隊反叛Eteocles的權位。到最後，兩兄弟互鬥而亡。繼位者Creon發佈命令，說Polynice的屍體應該任其腐壞，但是Eteocles卻得到正常的葬禮。Antigone決定私自下葬Polynice，並企圖說服妹妹Ismene，但是Ismene不願意違法Creon 的法令，最後Antigone只好自己獨立完成這件事。她被抓到之後，被審問時她說divine law比Creon's law還要更高，所以她只能服從divine law，而不能管Creon怎麼想。Antigone被關起來，最後自縊身亡。而她的男朋友Haemon，也就是Creon的兒子，也自殺身亡。最後連Creon的妻子，也就是皇后，也因為國內，家內發生這一連串的慘劇自決而亡。

以下為我幫cambridgetheatrereview寫的review：

Antigone, a play by Sophocles, describes the aftermath of Oedipus’ crimes: Oedipus’ two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, born of an incestuous relationship with his mother, killed off each other in a battle for the throne; Oedipus’ daughters, Antigone and Eurydice are the lone survivors of Oedipus’ line. Creon, the new king of Thebes, has decreed that Polyneices would be left unburied while Eteocles would be given the full burial rites, and Antigone is forced to choose between divine law and Creon’s orders.

The conflict between Antigone (played by Giulia Galastro) and Creon (played by Alex Gomar) still bears much weight today: in May 2011, bin Laden was killed by US Navy SEALs and buried at sea to avoid the formation of his cult centred on his shrine and relics; in October 2011, Gaddafi’s corpse was showcased for five days as fighters from Misrata and politicians in Benghazi wrangle over what to do with their greatest trophy and finally buried secretly in the middle of the desert. Just as Islamic custom dictates that a body should be buried as soon as possible after death, the ancient Greeks also believed that the lack of proper burial rites was the greatest insult to human dignity. When a tyrant is killed, should the people rejoice in Times Square? Is Sheikh Khaled (“Maybe they will hang me,” he says) the Antigone of our age?

When Creon first appears on stage, the chorus ponders what this new king would bring to Thebes. As soon as he orders that Polyneices should be left unburied, a messenger (the second best played character after Antigone) breaks the unpleasant news to him. The messenger’s question, “Is this what you want?” marks the beginning of Creon’s portrayal as a stubborn and inhumane tyrant, the messenger’s fear later echoed by Ismene’s similar question to Creon, “What do you want?” Creon is determined to rule in his own right and disdains his son Haemon for yielding to a mere woman and asserts his authority over the Thebans. The version by Richard Keith and Simon Haines differs from the original by bringing Creon’s stubbornness and suspicion even more to the forefront. In the original version, Tiresias the blind old sage is led in by a boy and Creon accuses him of receiving bribes while in the new version, Tiresias is led in by Ismene and Creon accuses the sage of succumbing to the beauty of Ismene.

        Antigone (played by Giulia Galastro) is openly defiant and fearless, her palms facing forward in the pose of come-what-may. The scene in which the messenger (played by George Potts) delivers the news that Polyneices’ corpse has just been buried is brilliantly rewritten and executed with precise ease. The messenger’s working class accent and inner turmoil consciously or subconsciously voiced before the king contrast sharply with Creon’s twisted face impatient with all the messenger’s inner musings and the king threatens to hang the messenger should he fail to deliver the culprit. However, Tiresias (also played by George Potts) is unconvincing as an old man and delivers his prophecy in a rigid stance. Creon’s lifting of his decree is too sudden with little emotions attached and his final outburst as he mourns over the corpses of his son and wife conveys not overwhelming grief and guilt but melodramatic artificiality. Yet the final scene is beautiful with its red ribbons streaming from the three corpses, and Creon’s red tie becomes another emblematic stream of blood.