Sport For Jove's 'Antigone', currently playing at the Seymour Centre, is a creative modernisation of the Greek tragedy by Sophocles.
The new script, adapted by director Damien Ryan, keeps much of the original play's dialogue but brings it into the 21st century with conversational quips, black comedy and allusions to a setting straight of a contemporary war zone. Indeed, it is the present-day conflicts in Iraq and Syria which Ryan draws parallels, highlighting the timelessness of classic Greek themes.
Set and costumes are particularly important in Ryan's vision, and they are faultless. The stage resembles one of those places we see on the nightly news – the ones that witness so much suffering that, in the end, the bomb sites become interchangeable to us and the fate of a single dead body, belonging to a single family, is a lost and forgotten detail.
The rubble of a shattered city which surrounds the actors is interesting but not distracting and it evokes an apocalyptic mood. Communications and utilities are suspended and the drama we witness looks like the frantic end-days of survivors.
Ryan's cast has also contemporised 'Antigone'. They are a refreshingly multicultural bunch who also seem to play 'Greekness' in a relatable, Australian way. Andrea Demetriades, as Antigone, is strong and quirky, but not 'manly' as in the original, so Ryan makes strength and courage traits of the modern woman. The whole play, in fact, seems to upturn ancient ideas about gender. Blind prophet Tiresias, arguably the moral and philosophical heart of the play, is portrayed in her female form by Anna Volska and has a young female guide. The witty and charismatic sentry, brilliantly played by Janine Watson, is perhaps the most relatable character on stage.
The disastrous relationship between Antigone and her uncle, despotic Creon (William Zappa), is the emotional centrepiece of the play, though they share little time on stage. In this, Ryan has kept the focus of Antigone the hubris of misguided leadership. Creon sarcastically says during dinner : "is this a Bill of Rights? No... it's a napkin!" A minor point, but I remain unsure if this is in keeping with Ryan's vision of 'Antigone' being based on modern Iraq and Syria. It's true that a lot of the horror in these countries has been caused by democracy gone awry – namely American democracy.
'Antigone' is essentially a religious play, since the main character defies the state to give her dead brother rites. I think a little something may be lost to us in treating Antigone's faith as totally relatable. Her story reminded me of the controversy over what to do with Osama Bin Laden's body.
Faith, martyrdom, ideological shrines. These things are some of the more difficult aspects of current conflict zones to understand as they are totally alien to the modern secular West, and this difficulty seems key to any modernisation of these themes. However, Ryan's general treatment of an urban community pushed to its limits is spot on. His fantastic new dialogue seems almost superfluous, as each character is emotionally distilled and caught in a bleak, discordant inertia reminiscent of the plays of Beckett.
The performances, sound design and stage management are all of a calibre one would expect from Sport For Jove (ie. very high!). Demetriades makes Antigone her own defiant creation, and Zappa is a cool, manipulative sociopath in an open collared shirt.
When the audience at 'Antigone' isn't laughing, it is making empathetic murmurs. In all, this version of 'Antigone' is both classic and very fresh, making it perfect for both newcomers or long time lovers of Greek tragedies.
