Antigone

Antigone

On October 24th, I had the opportunity to watch “Antigone” directed by Theodoros Terzopoulos at the Wilma Theater. The interpretation of the play was authentic. Terzopoulos took this play in a completely different direction as far as acting, by incorporating different techniques, movements and visuals. Antigone is such a compelling story that has been performed for centuries around the world, but none as raw and original as the one directed by Terzopoulos. Terzopoulos had a vision to not make it be about Antigone but the play as a whole, essentially making the audience pay more attention to about what is happening, and how it is happening in accordance with the words; opposed to just watching the show mindlessly. CAUTION: This show is not for everyone; only for those who likes to be challenged.

Sophocles was the creator of Antigone. This play is about a woman who seeks a burial for her brother, who is known as a traitor. She gets caught burying him and is locked up, and sentenced to death. The chorus members, the blind prophet Teiresias, Creon's son (Creon is Antigone's uncle, who is the new king of Thebes) and Antigone fiancé Haemon, all plead to discharge Antigone from confinement; however, it is too late because she has already committed suicide. Many different directors would have directed the show around Antigone’s death; Terzopoulos directed the show around the deaths of the people who suffered the Boston Marathon Bombing, and to honor people such as Trayvon Martin and others who had been killed unjust; making it relevant to what is happening in this era.

This show was very dynamic, therefore it did not need any set or props; it stood strongly on its own. There were two platforms as the set, and a minimal amount of props. A great visual aspect they did incorporate were the pictures of the lost ones. Lacking in props, the show needed another approach for a visual angle. The visual designs mostly came from the lighting; each scene had a distinctive light pattern. A problem arose when Terzopoulos had the actors speak Greek for parts of the show, while projecting an english translation on a screen above the actors. That broke the connection from audience to actor because there was too much going on. Complications such as, what are the actors doing and knowing what they were saying, made it hard to keep track of what is happening in the current moment. However, what was impressing about the show is that there were not many colors involved. The colors that were used were very neutral: red, black, and white. It worked because it did not distract from the actors. In the end, it was a good decision because it was not overwhelming with the vigorous and intense acting.

Antigone started as soon as you walked into the theater, with a man, Paolo Musio standing upstage center under a knife, mumbling words. He was the leader of the chorus. Next on the stage was a man downstage left, Ed Swidey, narrating the show. Walking across the stage from upstage left was Antonis Miriagos. He was followed by Ross Beschler, Stathis Grapsas, Jered Mclenigan, Steven Rishard, Justin Jain, Brian Ratcliffe, who played the chorus members amongst other distinctive parts. Downstage center was Jennifer Kidwell, playing Antigone and Sarah Gliko, who played Ismene and Eurydice. This cast was worth mentioning individually because on the stage they were seen as one. It was one of the best ensemble I have ever witnessed on stage.

The technique used was