Antigone, September 2003
ANTIGONE
Antigone by Sophocles was presented in the Seattle Fringe Festival in
September 2003 at the Chamber Theatre on Capitol Hill. Antigone was
directed by Dorothy Cosby with the Ensemble, assistant-directed by
Susie Polnaszek, choreographed by Kari Podgorski, co-produced by
Nicole Pearson, and stage managed/ LD'd by Trina Bates.
ANTIGONE is about the struggle between safety and freedom, our fear
of death, and the choices human beings make in circumstances of
violence and war. The story is both ancient and completely
contemporary.
What happens when we are confronted with death, when other
humans come to "destroy us and drink our blood," as Sophocles
describes it? How do we, as a community and as individuals,
react? Who plays what part? What kind of extreme behavior is
caused in these extreme situations?
ANTIGONE takes place in isolated Thebes, a proud city surrounded
by high walls and seven towers. This play is a country's
concentrated catastrophe, which starts with an attack on their
homeland and ends with the destruction of its ruler and a promise
from the gods that the "enemy nations" are now aroused.
The tragedy resonates with current events. We witness here the
grief felt after the war, the new leader's promise to make a full
recovery, his "unyielding anger", the fear of the outsider, the hard
stance taken and new laws put into place to protect the citizens
and the power of the government, the punishment that will now be
dealt out to all those who break those laws, and how the citizens
lose their rights and become victims, too.
"Those who function out of fear seek security. Those who function
out of trust seek freedom."-- William Hurt, NY Times. In this
community of Thebes, there are both. The Chorus functions out of
fear, for the state and the people, but ultimately, for themselves.
How can they take action to defend Antigone when such an action would surely mean
total instability and disaster, and the end of their lives as well - at least life as they know
it? They are terrified.
Antigone represents the other half
of the equation. Despite the ruling
that her dead brother is now
deemed ex-patriot and must rot on
the fields, she trusts her inner
impulse and knows that her heart
will break if she does not bury her
brother. Her sister Ismene says
"There is no way without power",
yet there is enough power in
Antigone's embracing her own
vulnerability and accepting the
possibility of her own death that she
can complete her action. But in a
state ruled by fear she has no
chance of coming out of it alive. Like
Rachel Corrie, or any figure in
history who chose love first, safety
second, the action is boldly taken,
and her ideals lead to her tragic end.
In the end, the tragedy is shared and
experienced by the dead and the
survivors. -- D. Cosby, 2003
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