The Antigone

By Aidan Matthews

Concept

Bronwen Cassin who had designed the setting for BENT for me found an old picture of people rummages in Berlin after all the World War 2 bombings . It inspired us to thing of what kind of world that was and what was happening, the myth of Antigone developed into our discussions and we asked Aidan Matthew to write a text for us.  We had a very short window to do this and Aidan wrote while I workshopped ideas with the actors on many many occasions we all come up with the same ideas.

We set the productions in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust everything was rock, trees were dead, life was up for grabs...

Antigone kept writing her brother name on the walls of the city in Spray paint - this was her crime -

Later Creon went blind - like Oedipus from washing his face in the river which was radioactively contaminated -

The Chorus strangled Antigone who was tied to a becktian rocking chair under a  tree like the one in Waiting for Godot so that no-one would know what happened,  and the myth of Antigone and resistance would grow on the lips of the people.

When she was dead the Chorus carried her body over the river (STYX) into the world outside so the ledgend  would grow.

Design

The Setting was created by Brian Power and Barbara Bradshaw the resident company designers at Project Arts Centre . Constructed using concrete - it included a river, a tree, a wrecked car, dead reeds and various other objects creating a post holocaust atmosphere. A radioactive river surrounded the space -

THE CAST

The cast was the core company we had been working work at Project who had also just played my production of Trafford Tanzi with us

Antigone - Olwen Fourere

Creon - David Heap

Toujours - Suzie Kennedy

Ismene - Fidelma O'Dowda /Joan Sheehy( who took over the role during the run)

Hemon - Paul Raynor

The Chorus - Mannix Flynn

Soldier - Nigel Mercier

Director - Michael Scott

Design - Brian Power and Barbara Bradshaw

Lighting - Barbara Bradshaw

Sound Score - Michael Scott

Press photos - Amelia Stein

Stage Photos - Michael Scott