Sophocles Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

Antigone

New Diorama Theatre

Reviewed – 9th January 2020

★★★★★

“Holy What’s excruciatingly incisive and nuanced production wrenches this classical play from its historical resting place and plants it firmly in the modern canon”

Honestly, Greek plays make me think of my GCSE drama theory, and just the idea of actually sitting through one makes me want to take a nap. Fortunately, Holy What’s production is having none of that.

Antigone (Annabel Baldwin) and Ismene (Rachel Hosker), two teenage sisters, are holding up the home front whilst their brothers fight against one another in a war for leadership of the city. The sisters spend their time playing games, talking about boys and sex, and venturing in to city’s nightlife.

When the soldiers finally return, both brothers are dead. Creon, their uncle and the newly appointed leader of the city, proclaims that one brother will be honourably buried and the other will be left unburied on the battlefield. Antigone insists that no-one should be punished this way, no matter their crime. Despite Creon’s decree of death for anyone who tries to bury her brother’s body, Antigone is insistent.

And that is the shortest possible synopsis for the ultimate Greek tragedy. On top of that, we’ve got incest, lots of tragic death, heroic acts, love, and let’s not forget the thing that brings it all together, the lashings and lashings of family drama. All this, undertaken by a two-hander in one act.

Under Ali Pidsley’s direction, Antigone focuses solely on the intense relationship between the sisters. Clearly far less interested in the particular twists and turns of the original character-packed plot, Lulu Raczka’s script is an immensely intimate portrayal of sisterly love. Whilst the generalities of Sophocles’ plot remains, the dialect is hyper modern. But somehow, despite plenty of talk of battlefields and death by starvation in a cave, it doesn’t feel uncomfortably anachronistic. Instead, we’re thoroughly drawn in to crushing moral dilemmas, and the impossible choices between doing the right thing and doing what’s necessary to survive.

The performances of both Baldwin and Hosker are heartbreakingly honest. Their delivery so closely mirrors the intimate nuances of sisterly love that if it weren’t for the fact that this is a rewrite of a Greek drama, I’d assume a lot of the script was verbatim.

The setting (Lizzy Leech), a small tiered platform filled with soil, evades complete understanding but is effective nonetheless. The dirt provides a play pit for the sisters in their jollier moments, and evidence of Antigone’s actions later in the plot. And all that aside, it provides a pleasing texture to a story that otherwise requires few props.

Lighting (Tim Kelly) and sound (Kieran Lucas), both deceptively simple, play almost as much of a role in this production as the script. Lucas’ score artfully navigates between low ominous rumbles, thumping soundscapes and noughties R&B. Kelly’s lighting is similarly emotionally calculating and playful, amping up the drama when a two-person cast can’t quite cut it.

My only real criticism for this production is that the soundtrack was a little too loud at various points – I had to plug my ears for a good couple of minutes in the middle, and I was still capable of hearing everything. And my other criticism would be that I’d appreciate if the lights stayed down for a minute or two at the end so that no-one could see my runny nose and blood-shot eyes. That’s right, I was completely crushed by a Greek tragedy.

Holy What’s excruciatingly incisive and nuanced production wrenches this classical play from its historical resting place and plants it firmly in the modern canon. What a way to start the new year.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Ali Wright

Antigone

New Diorama Theatre until 1st February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Trap Street | ★★★★ | March 2018

Left my Desk | ★★★★ | May 2018

Taking Flight | ★★★ | June 2018

4.48 Psychosis | ★★★★ | September 2018

The War Of The Worlds | ★★★½ | January 2019

Operation Mincemeat | ★★★★★ | May 2019

Art Heist | ★★★½ | October 2019

Joan Of Leeds | ★★★★ | December 2019

Click here to see our most recent reviews

★★★★

“an accomplished and dynamic production, that milks its source for contemporary relevance”

A family tragedy of epic proportions, DumbWise Theatre bring John Ward’s new adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy to the Bunker Theatre. Electra, the youngest daughter, lives as a prisoner of her mother and the man who killed her father, while her brother Orestes is in hiding. As their personal story is manipulated for political gain, questions of revenge, loyalty and fate merge into a bloody climax.

This is a raw, stripped back staging of the classic tale updated to reflect modern sensibilities and complemented by a stark punk-rock score. John Ward’s interpretation retains the lyricism of the classic, but strips away some of the grandiosity to cut to the core of the story. Combined with Samuel Wilde’s open stage and stark lighting, this truly allows him to open up the characters and expose their full complexities to the audience. Unlike the gods, the characters do roll in the mud, revelling in their pain and humanity.

It’s a strong ensemble cast, with no weak links. Standouts of note would be Sian Martin’s coldly charismatic Clytemnestra who deftly moves the audience from fear, to scorn, to sympathy in what is a stirringly topical exploration of what it is to be a successful wife and mother in a position of power. Also Dario Coates as the naïve, conflicted Orestes, torn between loyalty to his father and his mother. Despite the over two hour run time, the pacing is tight and the musical interludes break up the action. While the first half can seem a little convoluted as it lays out the complex political landscape, it really hits its stride in the second half when we get to concentrate on the personal family drama at the heart.

It’s an accomplished and dynamic production, that milks its source for contemporary relevance. It’s incredibly effective and moving. Lydia Larson is electric and anarchic as Electra, a symbol of the revolution, full of rage and righteousness. The lasting impression is of a young woman so twisted by the pain of the past, that she has lost faith and sight in the future.

Reviewed for thespyinthestalls.com

Photography by Lidia Crisafulli

Tag Archives: Sophocles

Antigone

★★★★★

New Diorama Theatre