Antigone

MT_AntigoneUnearthing the power of ritual in a shattered community, Malthouse Theatre presents an intoxicating re-interpretation of Sophocles’ timeless tragedy, Antigone for a limited season in the Merlyn Theatre from 25 August 2015.

Antigone has always been a respected member of her community but in civil war all bets are off. She suddenly finds herself on the outside looking in. Everyone has a right to bury their dead. Everyone has a right to give their loved ones a dignified resting place.

Yet when the community leaders decide that they need to set an example, they deny Antigone her right to mourn. Faced with the prospect of unresolved grief, she rebels against everything she knows. Her fate is mandated: either fall in line or be outcast forever.

Bringing the Greek tragedy of epic proportions back to contemporary stages, the production – originally conceived by Marion Potts – sees Adena Jacobs take up the baton for a genre she has established a name for herself in, with a work that presents a dystopian view of the world around us.

“In Antigone we observe a society in terror, in denial, unable to govern itself,” said Jacobs, whose history with Greek tragedies includes her intimate staging of Elektra in 2010.”Sophocles sets his drama in a world that has lost sight of its rituals, and faith in its leaders. It couldn’t be more relevant.”

Jane Montgomery Griffiths, who has written this adaptation, agrees: “I started with a faithful translation but then moved to a theatrical world that translates the themes for our contemporary culture. Greek tragedy transcends barriers of language and time; 2500 years on, it can still hit home with a stunning and urgent vitality.”

Montgomery Griffiths also performs in the work as antagonist to the title character of Antigone, played by rising young star Emily Milledge, who paints a vivid portrait of a woman denied her right to mourn. Exploring how family connections and rites-of-passage shape our sense of identity, this intoxicating take on Sophocles’ classic tragedy lays bare the rift between personal and political ideologies.

Director: Adena Jacobs  Cast: Jane Montgomery Griffiths, Emily Milledge, Elizabeth Nabben, Aaron Orzech, Josh Price  Adaption: Jane Montgomery Griffiths  Assistant Director: Samara Hersch  Lighting Design: Paul Jackson  Set & Costume Design: The Sisters Hayes  Sound Design: Jethro Woodward

Antigone
Merlyn Theatre – Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Season: 25 August – 13 September 2015 (previews: 21 – 24 August)
Bookings: (03) 9685 5111 or online at: www.malthousetheatre.com.au

For more information, visit: www.malthousetheatre.com.au for details.

Image: Key Photography – Andrew Gough / Treatment – The Sisters Hayes