They do say start as you mean to go on – and La Boite has kicked of season 2026 with a ripper. It’s a drama that’s all Greek to me. And to you.
This is a production of breathtaking brevity, clocking in at about 65 minutes, which is a new gold standard as far as I’m concerned. Still, with this production, less time is so much more.
It was the Greeks who pretty much invented the theatre, right? So, Antigone is as edifying as it is entertaining – entertaining in a cathartic way, that is.
This is a dynamic interpretation of Sophocles’ timeless tragedy that first played about 442BC at the Dionysus dramatic festival. Oh, how we would have loved to have been there!
The story centres on a fearless young woman, Antigone (Maddison Burridge), who refuses to stay silent.
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Set within a world shaped by political unrest, the story unfolds in the aftermath of a brutal civil war in which Antigone’s brothers Eteocles and Polynices have killed each other fighting on opposing sides. Power quickly consolidates under King Creon (Hayden Spencer), who orders that Eteocles is to be honoured while Polynices is denied burial, in punishment for turning against the state.
Antigone’s decision to challenge King Creon’s ruling ignites a brutal clash between personal conviction and authoritarian power. It’s a charged story of protest, conscience and defiance, set against a backdrop of political turmoil that feels both ancient and alarmingly current.
This drama is played out in stark fashion on a spare set with suitably tragic consequences
Antigone’s act of resistance sparks questions that burn with urgency today: Who gets to decide what is just? Where should our loyalty lie? With the state, or with family, or with ourselves? And what price are we prepared to honour the truth? This drama is played out in stark fashion on a spare set with suitably tragic consequences.
Directed by La Boite artistic director Courtney Stewart (Macbeth, Congratulations, Get Rich!) and award-winning fight, movement and intimacy director Nigel Poulton (Closer, The Poison of Polygamy), the play thrusts Sophocles’ classic into the heart of our fractured present-day world.
Dramaturgy is by Stewart and Brady Watkins, who have stayed true to the original, as far as I can tell. You don’t want to mess too much with an ancient classic.
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Set and costume design is by Josh McIntosh, who cleverly keeps it evoking Ancient Greece. The soundscape by composer and sound designer Watkins is, well, dramatic. Teegan Kranenburg’s lighting design punctuates the drama, plunging us into darkness and then starkly bringing us back to the central drama.
Maddison Burridge is superb and passionate as Antigone. Her performance is heart-rending, to say the least. As for Hayden Spencer, well, talk about gravitas. I couldn’t imagine anyone doing a better job as Creon, King of Thebes (the Greek, not the Egyptian one). Creon threatens death to anyone who disobeys him, and that means Antigone. Gulp.
As the daughter of Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta, Antigone is the product of a violated natural order. Her existence is viewed as a consequence of the polluted bloodline, so she is up against it from the beginning.
Antigone is part of the Theban Plays trilogy by Sophocles, which includes Oedipus Rex (or Oedipus the King) and Oedipus at Colonus. Although it was the first of the three plays written, it is the final instalment in the chronological storyline of the cursed Theban royal family.
It’s Shakespeare long before Shakespeare – as The Bard’s tragedies must surely have been influenced by the Greeks. Who wasn’t? All in all, it’s a brilliant short night at the theatre and a great way to start the year. The direction is superb, it looks terrific and the performances, including Billy Fogarty is several minor roles, is outstanding.
I should add that the production is beautifully choreographed by Nigel Poulton, who has expertise in the field of physicality on stage. In such a spare production his work has a lot of power and is intrinsic to the success of the show.
I’m not sure how to say it’s great in Ancient Greek, so I will have to resort to more modern language. Einai poly kalo!
Antigone plays La Boite’s Roundhouse Theatre, Kelvin Grove, until March 21.
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