With its echoes of the huddle in the White House situation room during the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, this is the opening image of Polly Findlay's stirring new production of Sophocles' Antigone; and, having exerted its grip from the start, it never lets go. Luke Norris is all unflinching truculence as the soldier who reports Polyneices' burial, Jamie Ballard as the prophetic Teiresias has the testy impatience of the truth-teller, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith delivers news of the climactic tragedy with appalled disbelief. Though the prospect of a different kind of Greek tragedy is one that is dominating our headlines at the moment, the ancient Greek kind remain an enduring presence in our theatres. Hope you enjoyed it Ute.And R, there were northern accents no? Roy Williams's 2014 adaptation of Antigone for the Pilot Theatre relocates the setting to contemporary street culture. Review: Antigone, National Theatre “When things must be, they will be” Though the prospect of a different kind of Greek tragedy is one that is dominating our headlines at the moment, the ancient Greek kind remain an enduring presence in our theatres. ‘Antigone’ review. “Antigone” at the National Theatre 6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment As if to remind us that Greek woes are nothing new, the National Theatre’s new production of Antigone shows a state in danger of becoming incapacitated by chaos. Theatre review of Antigone (Sophocles, in a version by Don Taylor) at Olivier Theatre, National Theatre - reviewer: Philip Fisher British Theatre Guide News, reviews, features and podcast on theatre across the UK We are at the hub of a modern seat of power. In Soutra Gilmour’s revolving set of an open plan office with smoked glass office cubicles at the back, Findlay has teased a strong set of performances from her ensemble and I can only imagine these will improve. Theatre Reviews Antigone, National Theatre, NT, May 2012 Posted on 30 May 2012 The story behind this play is that before he died, Oedipus cursed his sons, and they ended up killing one another in a battle for Thebes. 4 out of 5 stars. There is a portrait in the back of Creon’s office, but, despite the generally excellent sightlines in the… The Royal National Theatre is a registered charity no.224223. As we hear the whirring sound of a helicopter overhead, frantic desk-wallahs pass urgent messages ever higher up the chain of command. “The sandwiches wrapped in foil?” Phil wondered, brain slightly addled by emerging from an evening performance of Antigone to discover it was still daylight outside. 2012 marks the tenth anniversary of Travelex Tickets at the National. Jamie Ballard (fortunately released by the early closure of Written on the Heart) seems to be developing a bit of a fetish for latex prosthetics as his forthright prophet Teiresias is mightily disfigured (and bizarrely attached to his boy guide) and persuasively well spoken (even if I’m not sure the interpretation really allows for an effective shift into the gods-fearing spiritual). Film Appearances: Sergeant Fernandez Corelli, The First Deadly Sin, Filmways, 1980. Olivier, London. But her wordlessness works perfectly with Findlay’s representation of gender relations in this world. Review: Antigone at the National Theatre. Christopher Eccleston (Creon) and Jodie Whittaker (Antigone). Review: Antigone Thebes has been ravaged by civil war and King Creon has ruled that no one is to bury Antigone’s brother, the ‘traitor’ Polynices. We're working hard to … Lots and lots of blood. The third of the Theban plays, Antigone is a perfect tragedy: everyone behaves in the right way, but with fatal results. National Theatre Live brings the best of British theatre to cinema screens all over the UK and beyond, from Tokyo to San Francisco. I enjoyed this too, but I think it is set in Eastern Europe, not the north of England. Aside from the fundamental issue of Antigone and Ismene being subjugated to the will of their uncle and the above-mentioned largely silenced Eurydice, the only other women in the play are a secretary and a cleaner and in one of the show’s most powerful sequences, the men of the office all stop to leer over the cleaner sweeping up some broken crockery in a deeply uncomfortable but horribly believable moment. Your email address will not be published. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian. My Review: Antigone, National Theatre (Olivier), 9 June 24/06/2012 30/06/2012 | nikkimusingsandthoughts This version of Antigone by Sophocles is transported into modern day with a bit of a 1970s grey veil. Review – Antigone, National Theatre Tuesday 12 June 2012 “Did you enjoy the coup de théâtre?” Andrew asked at the Whingers’ post-show post mortem. 2012 Royal National Theatre’s Greek Tragedy Antigone, Polly Findlay, Jodie Whittaker, Christopher Eccleston, Don Taylor, Jamie Ballard. As we hear the whirring sound of a helicopter overhead, frantic desk-wallahs pass urgent messages ever higher up the chain of command. In 2012, the Royal National Theatre adapted Antigone to modern times. Though the play itself is powerfully insightful and still resonates, this production is hardly one of the National's greats, largely because it fails to ignite our emotions. Theater Reviews Music Reviews Short at around 90 minutes, 'Antigone' manages to encapsulate the essential conflicts between politics, power, the rights of the individual and common humanity. Posted on July 5, 2012 by Poly Gianniba. Of all the plays of the classical era, Antigone is one that perhaps resonates most with today’s society. Her righteous anger at the indignities imposed on what remains of her family burns fiercely, especially in the face of her sister Ismene’s meek compliance (Annabel Scholey in fine form), as she unremittingly pursues her own path, to fulfil her own beliefs, at whatever cost. When Creon’s authority is challenged, a gripping conflict emerges between the power of an individual and the state. In the programme for Sophocles’ Antigone at the National Theatre… It is quite astounding how the ancient moral dilemmas are still very much applicable to today’s tumultuous society. As the National Theatre wheels out this play, with a cast led by Christopher Eccleston and Jodie Whittaker, onto its main stage, such questions hang in the air like the smoke from an ancient funeral pyre. But as part of the Travelex season, you can’t really go wrong with a £12 ticket here. Inflexible authority … Jodie Whittaker and Christopher Eccleston in Antigone. The 9-strong chorus are also effectively portrayed here, made up of the ministers, flunkies and office functionaries around Creon and with an intriguing mixture of loyalties towards their new master. Critics praise Christopher Eccleston's "charismatic" and "intense" portrayal of Creon in the National Theatre's new production of Sophocles' Antigone. But what this production, aided by Soutra Gilmour's set and Dan Jones's sound design, does superbly is usher us into a world of self-regarding power that falls apart through its neglect of instinctive human feeling. Review: ‘Antigone’ Asserts Whose Lives Matter, With Modern Relevance. Luke Norris’ soldier adds another subversive note, although comically lighter, with an enjoyable performance. . And Zoë Aldrich’s Eurydice weaves through the production wordlessly until it is her turn to contribute to the vengeful retribution against Creon, though one does wish Sophocles had constructed more for so central a character. Synopsis In the unstable aftermath of a civil war, Creon, the new King of Thebes, asserts his authority by forbidding anyone from honouring the death of the traitor Polyneices. Theatre review: Antigone at the National Theatre, starring Christopher Eccleston Creon (Eccleston) and Antigone (Jodie Whittaker). Antigone Antigone – National Theatre, until the 21July 2012 Polly Findlay’s production of Antigone, which runs at a brisk 100 minutes without an interval, is a fine example of balancing the demands of classical Greek tragedy against modern audience sensibilities. Friendly warning! Antigone, by Sophocles (Royal National Theatre) Rating: Greek tragedy’s King Creon is the despot who scorns public opinion and wants simply to look resolute. Photograph: Ali Wright. In Greek mythology, Antigone (/ æ n ˈ t ɪ ɡ ə n i / ann-TIG-ə-nee; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or Euryganeia.She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene. Recommended. National Theatre, 2 June 2012 The stage resembles a 1980s European Cold War office, with further offices upstage partitioned by glass walls and doors. Even as they are hailing the new leader and his hard-line policies, the hints of ambiguity are still present and only grow bigger as Creon’s obstinacy leads him astray. Eccleston slips into the shoes of his unreconstructed 70s man with consummate ease, perhaps a little too comfortable of a characterisation initially at least, but he really sparks into life with an impassioned, physical debate with his son Haemon, the fresh-faced Luke Newberry, about the nature of autocratic rule and the dangers of failing to listen to all sides. It’s not perfect by any means and memories of recent productions, or more accurately certain aspects of them – the modern-day Middle Eastern setting of the Southwark Playhouse’s Antigone or Moira Buffini’s creation of a fully-rounded character for Eurydice in Welcome to Thebes – did make me wish I could create my own pick’n’mix version. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian. Included in this pack is an article on Sophocles and the City of Dionysia Festival, an overview of the characters in the play and an interview with director Polly Findlay. Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England no.749504. And … He presents us with a charismatic leader steeped in patriarchal tradition and naively trusting in the invulnerability of power: confronted by Antigone and her sister Ismene, he mockingly observes "these women are neurotic", and when his son Haemon tries to warn him about shifting popular sympathy, he loftily dismisses "the opinions of people in the street". e are at the hub of a modern seat of power. Finally, everyone gathers round a screen to witness and cheer the capture of a noted enemy of the state. With state-of-the-art filming techniques, tailored to every play, we bring you each performance as it happens, in all its glory. Welcome to Antigone, showing at the National Theatre. Antigone: Christopher Ecclestone as Creon and Jodie Whittaker as Antigone. Directed by Polly Findlay, the production transformed the dead Polynices into a terrorist threat and Antigone into a "dangerous subversive." This is a background pack for the National Theatre's 2012 production of Antigone. As the National Theatre wheels out this play, with a cast led by Christopher Eccleston and Jodie Whittaker, onto its main stage, such questions hang in the air like the smoke from an ancient funeral pyre. The meaning of the name is, as in the case of the masculine equivalent Antigonus, "worthy of one's parents" or "in place of one's parents". Her production locates this version of Thebes somewhere in the North of England in the late 1970s (at least that’s when I reckoned but others in the group were less sure) in which Jodie Whittaker and Christopher Eccleston take the leading roles. Christopher Eccleston's outstanding Creon becomes the play's tragic centre. Theatre, Drama. In Findlay's production, which uses the 1986 Don Taylor translation, the defeated Polyneices represents a terrorist threat; and, in her determination to bury her dead brother despite official decree, Antigone implicitly becomes a dangerous subversive. Antigone Reviews May 31, 2012 Olivier, National Theatre, London The head of state and assorted generals and apparatchiks cluster round a screen much as … To stamp his authority on the city, Creon opts to bury one brother but leaves the body of the other more rebellious one to rot outside on the battlefield. Whittaker rises to the challenge of the lead role beautifully. Theatre. Time Out says. Meanwhile Creon, as head of state, embodies all the certainty, arrogance and myopia of inflexible authority. 4 out of 5 stars. Seeing it today, sounds like I picked my tickets right! Sophocles in Stasiland. The enduring power of ancient Greek tragedies to speak to us … Picture: Johan Persson: Be warned, this is Greek tragedy and there be death and blood ahead. 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