The Greek tragedy Antigone (by Sophocles) is a story from the early days of the western theater tradition. In the play, Antigone’s brothers die on opposite sides of a political conflict. The winning side decrees that she cannot mourn the death of her fallen “enemy-of-the-state” brother, but, ever loyal to family, Antigone defies the long arm of the law. Westmont presents Antigonick, an adaptation of this classic tale by Anne Carson, October 24 to November 1.
“Anne Carson has done a very special thing with this translation,” says student dramaturg Ashley Clark. “She does away with the fluff that makes Antigone an ‘unreachable’ Greek tragedy to the average theatergoer. By stripping the story down to its most essential aspects … the barrier between the story and the 21st-century audience vanishes.”
Director Mitchell Thomas says many Antigone adaptations are too text-heavy, lacking space for exploration. “Carson’s version is a distilled-down, poetic structure of the show that allows for movement and music and atmosphere and bodies in a way that I found very compelling and exciting.”