Αntigone, Sophocles – National Theatre, NTNG, CTO – Stathis Livathinos

The conflict between Oedipus’ two sons, Polynices and Eteocles, over the throne is at an end. Both brothers are found dead on the field of battle. Creon, the new king of Thebes, has ordered that Polynices, who took up arms against his own homeland, be left unburied. But the dead man’s sister, Antigone, resolves to honour him with a proper burial. She is arrested and taken before Creon, who condemns her to death in accordance with the laws of the land. The king remains adamant, even after the intervention of his own son, Haemon, and orders that Antigone be buried alive in a cave. However, the dire consequences foreseen by Teiresias are not long in coming. Though the king finally relents, it is too late to avert disaster: Antigone has hanged herself in her cell, Haemon has killed himself and Eurydice, Creon’s wife, follows her son to the grave. Stathis Livathinos chose Sophocles’ most celebrated play with a staging in mind that would put three generations of actors together on stage. Antigone was most probably performed at the Great Dionysia of 441 BC and was written by Sophocles in reaction to the exile of Themistocles, the victor of the Battle of Salamis. In this, one of the finest works of Ancient Greek drama, the conflict between moral laws and the laws of the state is taken to its logical conclusion with two protagonists who remain true to their tragic natures and the stance forced on them by Fate.