Antigone (FringeTIX)
Urban Myth Theatre of Youth @ Holden Street Theatres (The Studio)
11:00am, Fri 30 Mar 2007
I woke up early this morning with the perfect opening line for this post; something along the lines of “after last year’s adventurous, but ultimately disappointing, production of -M[O]TH-, Urban Myth have refined their craft…”
Pity that Urban Myth weren’t involved in -M[O]TH-, then… otherwise, that would’ve been a really good springboard. Instead, here I am waffling on, demonstrating my own lack of research and desperation to finally get these posts written.
But onto Antigone.
As my impeccable research (read: quick look on Wikipedia) shows, Antigone was initially penned around 441 BC by the Greek tragic Sophocles. It opens with the titular protagonist, played with noble strength by Nikki Souvertjis, preparing to defy her king Creon (a loud and unsubtle Kym Beggs) in performing a proper burial for her disgraced fallen brother Polyneices. There’s something decidedly Shakespearean about the tragic plot development, which probably indicates the timeless nature of Bill’s work; humour is presented in the comic relief of the guards’ discussion, and the Chorus trio (who I assume are the Prophets) are reminiscent of the Witches in Macbeth.
Despite the relatively weak acting behind Ismene (and the aforementioned bombastic Creon), the cast work well on the cunningly sparse set. Netta Yashchin’s direction shows plenty of creativity – the evocative and cheeky spitting-in-the-boots was a nice touch – and the repetition in the circuitous dialogue creates a very sledgehammery feeling… but, given the relevance of the contemporary themes of Antigone, this is not unappreciated.
It’s not without its flaws, but I enjoyed Antigone… I enjoyed it a lot. However, the performance was – yet again – marred by noisy latecomers. For fuck’s sake, it’s not okay to be fashionably late for theatre, you freaks.