Theatre Review
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Antigone, by Jean Anouilh. Old Fire Station, Tuesday 10th - Saturday 14th October 2000 Anouilh did not choose to re-write Sophocles' play Antigone because
of the dramatic potential of its plot. Indeed, in his version of the
tragedy, written in 1944, he seems to have been keen to play down
the details of the story as much as possible. For a start, the chorus
tells us exactly what is going to happen right at the beginning. Later,
as the play unfolds, Anoulh deliberately avoids staging the parts
of the story which are the most physically dramatic. Antigone's capture,
her subsequent death and her lover's suicide all take place off-stage;
it is left to messengers briefly to fill in the narrative. Anoulih
finds his drama in the interactions between the characters; in the
complexities of their minds and emotions; and in using them to explore
issues ranging from contemporary politics to the nature of drama itself. This makes for a complex piece, and one that would be difficult enough
to interpret without its author adding to the confusion by not seeming
to have found any definite answers to the questions he poses. For
example, Antigone is widely touted as a piece of anti-Nazi
propaganda, exposing the emptyness and inhumanity of an authoritarian
regime. Yet Creon's explanations and justifications for the implementation
of his strict rule were deemed convincing enough to allow the play's
continued performance in Nazi occupied France. Moreover, one cannot
help but feel pity for the king, left lonely and bereaved at the end
of the play, though this may have been helped in this production by
Rob Crumpton's wonderfully sympathetic performance. To take another example, the Chorus (played with almost smug insouciance
by Richard Madely) hammers home the message that true tragedy is distinguished
from its brother melodrama in that there is no hope of a happy ending.
Yet as the long pivotal scene between Antigone and her uncle progresses,
one finds oneself hoping against hope for an alternative outcome,
despite what one has been told. That said, the air of grim inevitability in Antigone is sufficient
to remove much of the distraction provided by a plot, allowing audience
and cast alike to focus on the characters and their motivations. This
does, of course, mean that the work requires exceptional acting, and
by and large this cast supplies it. Emma Campbell Webster is both
visually striking and totally enthralling in the title role. She negotiates
with ease the capricious changes of temper of the heroine, and blends
all the conflicting aspects of her character into one believable,
comprehensible whole. Kaffy Rice-Oxley's rather stark directorial style works well with this piece, playing down the theatrical in order to concentrate on the meta-theatrical as Anouilh intended. The relative lack of physical contact or excessive emotional displays, which might have stifled the drama of another play, helps to focus the attention where it is needed - on the people involved and on the principles at stake. This is a thought-provoking play, given the intelligent treatment it deserves.
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