Theatre review: The Burial at Thebes
Seamus Heaney retitled his translation of Antigone by Sophocles The Burial at Thebes to bring to the fore the theme of mortality. Nottingham Playhouse's production continues on this road by opening and closing with sand dropping into a bowl, like the protagonists' lives slipping away. Against a backdrop of a blasted concrete wall, this is obviously a place recently ravaged by battle, and the killing hasn't finished yet.
At the centre of the story is Creon, who after decades of waiting in the wings has become king of Thebes after the death of his nephews. Eteocles died defending Thebes and has been given a hero's burial, but Polyneices fought on the other side, and Creon has decreed that his body be left for the dogs to eat, and anyone who tries to perform funeral rites will be killed. Antigone defies her uncle and buries her brother's body, bringing Creon's rage down upon her; he resolves to brick her up in a cave and let her die, despite the protests of all around him.
This is a pretty traditional production, in stark contrast to the last Greek tragedy I went to see, but none the worse for that. The entire cast double as the Chorus of Theban elders, slipping in and out of character as needed. The text is clear and there's no feeling of losing the thread of what's going on as can sometimes happen in productions of the inevitably wordy ancient Greek plays, and Lucy Pitman-Wallace's production has lots of pace. Abby Ford is affecting as Antigone, while Paul Bentall's Creon is always menacing and worryingly deranged - I'm pretty sure that was mainly down to his acting and not the fact that he sweated a lot and had really unpleasant feet, but those things did contribute as well. He remains a frightening presence as his world crashes around him, a consequence of his killing Antigone. This being tragedy it's his own hubris that brings him down, and his son Haemon kills himself after Antigone's death, just as the blind prophet Tiresias said the Furies would get back at him. Although to be honest, I would have thought the scene where Haemon basically says "I will kill myself if Antigone dies" would have been a bit of a bigger hint, but that's Greeks for you.
Haemon and Antigone were engaged, and if I worked this out correctly they were first cousins. And I know that was more accepted In Them Days but you'd think the family of Oedipus would be a bit more careful about that sort of thing.
Despite most of the cast being a bit older, there's eye candy in Haemon, the rather adorable Sam Swainsbury. When he's part of the chorus he does some gentle acrobatics which involve him taking his shirt off for no good reason whatsoever, so a biscuit for Lucy Pitman-Wallace.
This has been a bit of a weird review, hasn't it? Really good production, well worth seeing, in case that important point didn't come across. The Burial at Thebes, Sophocles' Antigone translated by Seamus Heaney is booking until the 29th of September at The Pit.
At the centre of the story is Creon, who after decades of waiting in the wings has become king of Thebes after the death of his nephews. Eteocles died defending Thebes and has been given a hero's burial, but Polyneices fought on the other side, and Creon has decreed that his body be left for the dogs to eat, and anyone who tries to perform funeral rites will be killed. Antigone defies her uncle and buries her brother's body, bringing Creon's rage down upon her; he resolves to brick her up in a cave and let her die, despite the protests of all around him.
This is a pretty traditional production, in stark contrast to the last Greek tragedy I went to see, but none the worse for that. The entire cast double as the Chorus of Theban elders, slipping in and out of character as needed. The text is clear and there's no feeling of losing the thread of what's going on as can sometimes happen in productions of the inevitably wordy ancient Greek plays, and Lucy Pitman-Wallace's production has lots of pace. Abby Ford is affecting as Antigone, while Paul Bentall's Creon is always menacing and worryingly deranged - I'm pretty sure that was mainly down to his acting and not the fact that he sweated a lot and had really unpleasant feet, but those things did contribute as well. He remains a frightening presence as his world crashes around him, a consequence of his killing Antigone. This being tragedy it's his own hubris that brings him down, and his son Haemon kills himself after Antigone's death, just as the blind prophet Tiresias said the Furies would get back at him. Although to be honest, I would have thought the scene where Haemon basically says "I will kill myself if Antigone dies" would have been a bit of a bigger hint, but that's Greeks for you.
Haemon and Antigone were engaged, and if I worked this out correctly they were first cousins. And I know that was more accepted In Them Days but you'd think the family of Oedipus would be a bit more careful about that sort of thing.
Despite most of the cast being a bit older, there's eye candy in Haemon, the rather adorable Sam Swainsbury. When he's part of the chorus he does some gentle acrobatics which involve him taking his shirt off for no good reason whatsoever, so a biscuit for Lucy Pitman-Wallace.
This has been a bit of a weird review, hasn't it? Really good production, well worth seeing, in case that important point didn't come across. The Burial at Thebes, Sophocles' Antigone translated by Seamus Heaney is booking until the 29th of September at The Pit.