Greek theatre, especially a tragedy, can be hard-going, but fortunately Lewis Galantiere’s adaptation and translation of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone, which was a hit in Paris during 1944, makes for engaging and entertaining theatre, dispelling much of what is imagined about Greek tragedy.

And under Ivana Palezevic’s direction for Backyard Theatre Productions, with its modern setting and strong casting, it is even more so. 

The Antigone story follows on from the well-known one about Oedipus and his mother, as Antigone, her sister and two brothers are the result of that relationship. [More] 

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Dirty deeds done in the ‘smelly kitchen of politics’ are a matter of particular interest these days. Such deeds and what they mean for us as individuals are the highly topical theme of an intelligent and well executed production of Antigone, on now at the Gryphon Theatre. 

The play is Jean Anouilh’s 1944 interpretation of the story from Greek mythology: Polyneices and Eteocles, sons of Oedipus and Antigone’s brothers, die fighting each other in a civil war. The new ruler of Thebes, King Creon, decrees that Polyneices’ body will be left unburied and otherwise unsanctified by funeral rights. Antigone feels that she has a duty to bury her brother, although she is aware that to do so is potentially fatal; Creon has ruled that anyone who attempts to bury Polyneices will be put to death. 

Antigone acts, and is arrested by the soldiers guarding Polyneices’ body, who bring her before Creon. Niece and uncle debate their respective responsibilities – personal, legal, moral, civic – in the highly charged circumstances. The debate is brought to life by the high stakes, in terms of political stability, and of love, happiness and self-esteem for those involved – principally Creon and Antigone, but also for Antigone’s sister, nurse, mother and husband to be.

The play is deliberately constructed like a sort of fiendish machine. The Chorus tells us at the start what fate awaits the main characters. All we, the audience, can do is watch events move towards their inevitable end. The characters, on the other hand, act as if they still have some control over their destiny. Much of the play’s power lies in the eloquence and ingenuity they bring to their pleading, bargaining and fighting, when we know that the deal has already, so to speak, been struck. 

Antigone and Creon are the play’s leading characters, and this production is fortunate to have two such versatile and skilled performers in the roles: Catherine Zulver and Malcolm Gillett respectively.

Zulver brings sensitivity, confidence and a wide emotional range to her part. Hers is a relatively low-key interpretation, where the text seems to be inviting her to pull out the stops in more intense moments; it will be interesting to see whether she opens out more as she gets into the swing of on-stage performance in the role. 

Perhaps it’s a cliché that villains are the most fun to play, and often to watch, but happily for the audience, Gillett is not put off by lurking clichés. His Creon is such a smooth, plausible and persuasive tyrant that I for one wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Antigone had decided to give up on the idea of burying her rat of a brother, and marry nice Haemon and live happily ever after instead (spoiler alert; she doesn’t).

As Chorus, Hamish Boyle does an excellent job of scene setting and commenting on the action; it’s a smaller but still pivotal role, which Boyle executes with aplomb and effective touches of humour. 

Annica Lewis as Ismene / Messenger, James Bayliss as Haemon / Second Guard, and Alida Steemson as Nurse / First Guard, ably support the play’s principals with strong and accomplished performances. 

Particular congratulations to Sam Thacker and Sam Woodside for makeup; maybe your reviewer is over-interpreting, but I appreciated the graveyard touch that their makeup gives to some of the characters.

Antigone was written and presented by Jean Anouilh, a French writer in Nazi-occupied France, and the parallels between the debate over moral duty in the play and related dilemmas faced by the French during the occupation are not hard to spot. The chilling thought is that the same debate is equally current today; another reason to head down to the Gryphon and see the issues acted and argued out with such passion in this fine production.

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