Antigone

Jean Anouilh

Antigone

Play. Jean Anouilh. Translated by Lewis Galantière

M8 (20s, middle-age, 60s) F4 (19, 20s, 60s). An open space.

This play was first performed in German-occupied France and its theme is resistance to oppression. It is based on the Greek tragedy of Antigone, who tried to bury her brother's corpse against the diktat of her uncle, Creon. Creon is a dictator, but defends his position on practical grounds. In spite of her love for Creon's son, she chooses her part: to bury her brother and die.

Antigone. Play. Jean Anouilh. Translated by Barbara Bray

For cast, synopsis and setting details see synopsis above.

Antigone. Play. Bertolt Brecht
Translations: K. I. Porter, Robert Cannon

A prologue set in 1945 Berlin shows two sisters whose brother has deserted from the German army and is found hanged: should they risk being seen by the SS cutting his body down? In the play itself Creon becomes a brutal aggressor, who has attacked Argos for the sake of its iron ore. Tiresias, instead of prophesying the future, becomes a pessimistic analyst of the present; while the chorus of elders, always reserved in its attitude, eventually turns against Creon too.