79. Antigone - Southwark Playhouse

Given that I suspect I have said more than enough on here already about Greek drama, it will hardly be a surprise that Antigone at the Southwark Playhouse was on my must see list (especially as Antigone was the first Greek play I studied, I even did part of my art A Level coursework on it). It was particularly a given since it was translated by Timberlake Wertenbaker, another favourite of mine (excitingly she will be writing a new play for Wilton’s Music Hall later this year). And for once, gloriously, my high expectations weren’t disappointed.


The setting, a vaguely South West Asian setting somewhat akin to Iraq or Iran, which I’d had doubts about, worked far better than I expected it to. It had the advantage of feeling both familiar from our TV screens (a fact the production made the most of, using “TV news broadcasts” for some of the more expository dialogue) and unfamiliar. This familiar unfamiliarity also allowed us to accept the Ancient Greek laws and worship as truthful. Though I wonder if this would still be true if the location was more specific or my knowledge of the region deeper – either way, my ignorance, did lend this an interesting air of credibility. It allowed also the chorus elements to feel more integrated and believable and added extra layers of richness. I loved the musicality, the choreography, the ritualistic movement, the smell of incense and the concept of God and worship that existed both inside and apart from the equally believable police state.

This police state provided a claustrophobic, intense atmosphere to the production. A wonderful sense of inside and outside, of separation and exclusion, was created by the set. Wire fencing, often with shadowed figures just visible behind the wire, low prison spotlights proving highly effectively in the night scenes, or the warm growth of sunlight almost providing release but never quite dissipating the tense, controlled atmosphere.

As well as the setting, I thought there were a number of extremely powerful performances. Jamie Glover playing Kreon particularly impressed me – intense, frustrated, genial for the cameras, terrifying and very human. Though I also loved both Eleanor Wyld as Antigone and Daisy Ashford as Ismene. One of my favourite things about Greek Drama is that they teem with exciting, powerful, proactive and flawed female characters – and in this production both actresses seized the opportunity and played the scenes with incredible commitment and passion. I also loved the way the production handled Antigone’s final scene – creating a striking and memorable final image for the character.

In fact my only qualm with the production was that the much advertised ‘community chorus’ proved to be supplied almost entirely by recent drama school graduates. Though this certainly didn’t detract from the production, it did make me curious about why this didn’t work out in the way originally implied. Still it was an excellent evening and providing another in a run of great Greek adaptations this year. Lets hope the double bill of Electra and Orestes (oh my heart) at the end of the year continues the trend.