Antigone

I went to see Antigone on opening night because my roommate, Beth, played Antigone. It was really a phenomenal show, it put Superman to shame. The acting was solid, and the director's choice to create the atmosphere of Nazi Germany to show what it had truly been like when this version of the play was first being put on gave the show an entirely different feeling. (More about this aspect of the show later)

There were a few things that I did not agree with about actor choices in the show. After having read this version of Antigone in class, I had an entirely different outlook on the show. In highschool we read the original Antigone, and the dialogue between Antigone and Creon clearly made Creon the "bad" character, the unfeeling and unsympathetic tyrant, while Antigone was clearly the heroine, the brave young girl who stood up against authority and the tyranny of her uncle in order to uphold her morals. But, when we read Jean Anouilh's version in class, I understood the story in an entirely new way. Antigone seems a foolish and thoughtless child who sees only her own problem and doesn't look beyond what she sees right and wrong. Creon, on the other hand, is rational and is thinking about the entire kingdom under his rule. He is unable to think emotionally about all of his choices and has to make sacrifices in order to better the entirety of the state. Reading the play I envisioned him rational and somewhat pitying Antigone for not being able to understand the situation on his level. Antigone is adament about her beliefs despite Creon just wanting to save her and help her understand why he is unable to bury her brother. (Tangent - at the same time I recognize that Anouilh is actually saying that Creon is a tyrant - with choices such as his statement that he is going to kill all three guards in order to save Antigone. He is really just trying to save his status and position, keep his son's future wife alive and keep his power in its absoluteness.) Anyways, I felt that the actor playing Creon in the show did not really portray this side of Creon. He was truly a tyrant, scary and insensitive to anyone but himself. Especially at the end, when Creon's family has fallen apart, both his son and his wife have killed themselves - I felt that here Creon should show some emotion, some regret, or pain, and yet the actor chose to play it off as just business and seemed mechanical and inhuman. Also, in the long interaction with Antigone, Creon continually tries to save her, tries to convince her to listen to him and take his help, and tries to make her understand why he had to make the decree that he did. The actor playing Creon seemed to have two emotions: a passive, normal tone and an over-the-top angry. He would switch between one and the other without really building up anger which made it seem unrealistic. I wish that he had played a more rational Creon who had thought all of his decisions about the body, etc. through many times rather than a Creon with a temper who just yelled a lot.