antigone

i'm wondering if anyone went to see Antigone, i auditioned for it but was away and couldn't see it, how was it?

" Thou errant fat-kidneyed burn-bailey! "
hey, this insult gadgets pretty cool!!!

I did see it, on the final Saturday. I've been meaning to give a quick mention, sorry haven't gotten to it til now.

Overall, I thought it was extremely well done.

Set design was stark and beautiful. The hazy opening atmosphere, the clean and geometric set design with the floor of salt reminded me of an austere Japanese garden (although it was not particularly Asian and suited the Greek setting very well).

I was very impressed with the continous live music soundtrack played by the duo "Harem Bug One"; it underpinned all of the dramatic scenes but never really intruded (apart from just a few times seeming too loud). I really noticed how effective they were about halfway through the show, when suddenly I noticed silence for the first time. Up til then, (and afterwards) they had meshed completely with the action.
They were particularly effective in underscoring the words of the Chorus, - possibly assisting them to keep such perfect unity, which is worth remarking on. The Chorus really did speak as one voice, not as the messy rabble it can descend to in some productions.

The key element Peter Kingston has achieved in his direction of these young players is their focus. Any perceived lack of experience or performance skill in the cast was anulled by being constantly engaged by their clarity of focus in thought and action. The dialogue was almost always clear to follow, because the thought processes were clearly readable.
The modern translation may have helped a little, (particularly in the style of the humorous scenes with the guard), but the language was still very dense and difficult. The slightly stylised delivery helped to carry us through the text, while giving it that epic Greek manner.

Too many excellent cast members to give separate mention, but Luke Reudavey as Creon gave a terrific performance. His character's fall is the backbone of the play, and he commanded the emotional journey extremely well for a lad of 16. Alex Milne as Antigone and Carla Nirella as Ismene were great as the young protagonists, particularly in their clarity and energy in the very first scene, and for their very truthful displays of emotion throughout. And Amanda Chesterton's brief but controlled appearance as Teiresias (I hardly recognised her at first with the makeup and contact lenses) was strong and well-measured...no tendancy in this play to look like a dancer(!)...it didn't matter that her "old man" was neither old nor a man, she delivered all the essence of the character without resorting to any cliched portrayal.

All the other speaking roles were very well handled, giving the production a great unity and energy.

I only got to see this as a last minute decision, but was quite impressed, and glad I did.

Cheers,
Craig

I too saw it on the last night and was similarly impressed. I would add that the sound effects (tied in well to the music) and lighting design gave great impact to the centre entrances in particular. The makeup and costumes were simple but very effective too.

Well done all concerned. An excellent interpretation of a great piece of classic drama. I hope the whole experience wasn't too draining - and I loved the sign in the bijou box that said "You rock my salt!"

Thou roguish knotty-pated ratsbane!

I saw it too, but must warn that I am completely bias as I played Antigone earlier this year and have an almost scary amount of knowledge about the play....

I loved the set; symbolism of the salt was great but the actors had a few problems walking on it (kudos to the guy who played Haemon, completely at ease on the salt, always a good thing); loved the single door at the back...

Costumes also good, liked the chorus all in white, contrasts with Ismene and Antigone were interesting, liked the uniformity of it all...

Music was perhaps the best part of the play; what a great idea; I too noticed the short amount of silence when it happened; kudos to both the musicians...

My opinions on the actors varied. Standout performance was Rentato Someone as Haemon, all I can say is 'wow'... Luke as Creon was interesting, considering I knew him as a wee lad; loved the chorus, though felt there were a few of them, who shall remain nameless, who were doing their best to upstage everyone...Alex was compelling as Antigone, I enjoy seeing different interpretations of the character... Carla as Ismene and the girl who played Euridyce (forgot her name, sorry!) were less compelling, but all actors knew their lines backwards, which I am beginning to appreciate more and more...

Main criticism would be that they completely lost the idea of Ismene as a foil for Antigone's strongness and opinionated nature: Ismene is designed to be weak, the "perfect woman", to be swayed easily, to be scared and afraid and gutless - I hardly saw any of this, which meant that the relationship between Antigone and Ismene wasnt as contrasting as it could have been (was meant to be?)

For some reason, there was a cast and director forum after the performance I saw, this was interesting to hear from some of the actors and the director, though no kudos go to the woman who dominated this forum with her ignorant, rude and intrusive nature...

Hmm, reading over this, perhaps I liked it more than I first thought... :)

My only question now is: what ARE they going to do with 27 tonnes of salt???

alison wrote:
> Standout performance was Rentato Someone as Haemon, all I can say is 'wow'...

Renato Fabretti, currently studying at Hayman Theatre, played Haemon. (very well!)


> Main criticism would be that they completely lost the idea of
> Ismene as a foil for Antigone's strongness and opinionated
> nature: Ismene is designed to be weak, the "perfect woman",
> to be swayed easily, to be scared and afraid and gutless - I
> hardly saw any of this, which meant that the relationship
> between Antigone and Ismene wasnt as contrasting as it could
> have been (was meant to be?)
>

Interesting & valid criticism. You're probably right that the character of Ismene was written to be a weak contrast. (Although maybe then she should've been named "Antithesis"?)
I think it was an interesting choice to have both sisters shown as reasonably strong, partly because it's great to see strong female characters in a classical (usually male-dominated) play, and especially strong YOUNG females making decisions - terrific rolemodels for the BSX cast and audiences.
And partly because (I've not seen the play before, to know any better) it worked for me just like it was. Portraying Ismene as reasonably strong willed, but just not able to go as far as Antigone, only made Antigone seem even braver. If Ismene was played as "gutless", then there would've been little surprise for me to find Antigone stronger, and the events may have been more predictable.


>
> My only question now is: what ARE they going to do with 27
> tonnes of salt???

...Especially since the cast are too young to drink Margheritas?


Cheers,
Craig

[%sig%]

>>
>> My only question now is: what ARE they going to do with 27
>> tonnes of salt???

>...Especially since the cast are too young to drink Margheritas?



You obviously weren't at the cast party afterwards :P


Crispy.