The contemporary version of the play Antigone, written by Jean Anouilh almost 2400 years after Sophocles’ original, preserves the Greek play’s theme: the conflict between individual conscience and governmental edict. Although King Creon decrees that Antigone’s brother Polynices should not be given a proper burial because Creon considers him a rebel and a traitor, Antigone persists in giving her brother the burial she believes is essential. The Anouilh play was first performed in Paris during the Nazi occupation.
Today’s production of Antigone, now being staged by Promethean Theatre Ensemble, is a 1946 adaptation of the 1944 Jean Anouilh script by Lewis Galantiere, who replaced Anouilh’s French prose with more accessible American vernacular. Elaine Carlson directs the new production with Heather Dennis as Antigone and Jared Dennis as King Creon.
Antigone believes that “Those who are not buried wander eternally and find no rest. I owed it to him to unlock the house of the dead in which my father and my mother are waiting to welcome him.” She believes her moral code should prevail over Creon’s edict—or as Anouilh suggests, what a totalitarian government might decree.
Chorus (Christina Renee Jones) performs the essential role of the narrator/storyteller, filling us in on essential details and the underlying truths of the Sophocles/Anouilh story as it moves along. Jones is vivacious and direct, often making eye contact with audience members as if to emphasize her points. Interestingly, she also defines for us the difference between a tragedy and a melodrama—and why Antigone is indeed the former.
“Tragedy is clean, firm, it is flawless. It has nothing to do with melodrama, with wicked villains or persecuted maidens…. Death, in a melodrama, is really horrible because it is never inevitable. In a tragedy, nothing is in doubt and everyone's destiny is known.”
The disagreement between Antigone and Creon arises after the dispute between her two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices. After King Oedipus, their father, dies, they agree to alternate their years of rule over Thebes. But when Eteocles’ first term was up, he refuses to give up power and a civil war ensues, in which both are killed. Creon, Oedipus’ brother, then takes the throne of Thebes. Eteocles is given an official burial; Polynices’ body is left to rot.
Despite the decree—and even though she knows she will suffer for it—Antigone attempts to bury Polynices. She’s caught but returns to redo the job, and she’s captured again and taken to her uncle’s office. Their dispute takes the form of a long, heated conversation that dominates the performance. Creon (in a smart performance by Jared Dennis) alternates between expressing some affection for the woman who is his niece and anger at her stubbornness to obey his decree.
Antigone follows her conscience rather than capitulating to an authoritarian ruler, even if he is her uncle. When it was first produced in Paris, the play was considered to be a covert symbol of the French Resistance, with Antigone’s "No" mirroring the French refusal to submit to German occupation.
The heart of the play is that conversation, which is almost 25 percent of the script and, despite its tension, comes perilously close to being boring. (That’s about 23 minutes of a 95-minute performance, if you are fond of data.) Director Carlson’s careful direction keeps most of the play moving and, to break the gloom, there’s a romantic interlude between Antigone and Haemon (Layke Fowler), and comic interludes by the guards (Gunner Bradley, Gavin Blayne and Brendan Hutt).
The rest of the play is mostly scenes reflecting Antigone’s relationships—with her sweet nurse (marssie Mencotti), her sister Ismene (Meghann Tabor), and her lover/fiancé Haemon, son of Creon. (Apparently people didn’t think anything of first cousins marrying in those days; actually such liaisons were not uncommon in Greek mythology.) Creon’s wife, Eurydice (Alex George) appears in a lovely gown but has no lines.
This modern adaptation gives the director the choice to put the actors in modern dress. King Creon and his page wear business suits. The guards are in camo with caps or hoods. Female characters wear dresses that could be worn today. (Costumes by Rachel M. Sypniewski.) The setting is partly Creon’s office (with a fancy, throne-like chair) and the rest of the set is a multi-level area with several steps leading up to a platform, all surfaces finished to appear like concrete. (I thought perhaps it was supposed to look like marble, but my plus-one insisted it was more like concrete.) Translucent screens form a backdrop.
To complete the modern mode, most of the characters use smartphones; in their spare time, the guards are glued to their screens. (Scenic design by Trevor Dotson. Props by Tristan Brandon. Lighting design by RobbyMae Reeves and sound by Alex Trinh. Esau Andaleon is stage manager.)
Antigone by Promethean Theatre Ensemble continues through June 28 at the Den Theatre’s upstairs mainstage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. Running time is 95 minutes with no intermission. Tickets ($35) for performances Thursday-Sunday are available here.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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