Most of us suffer from the Monday blues – a low-spirited feeling when a mundane and difficult weekday has arrived to force us back into work, killing our joys, which would mean that there is no better time of the week to go and see a tragedy, a Greek tragedy to be precise.
The Lakeside Arts Centre played centre stage to a contemporary adaptation of Sophocles, Antigone. Having seen numerous versions of this play on stage, and being told that this version was a sell-out I felt nostalgic sat in my seat ready to re-live a plot I had studied so closely as a teenager, however this wasn’t the Antigone I knew and remembered.
As a classic tragedy, by definition, the original plot, characters and script are timeless and as a result, already relevant and meaningful. Yet this version tries to catapult it into a more futuristic setting where the fate of the characters are written in code and drones, rather than birds, fill the sky..
With references to Donald Trump and Twitter, the play aims to take Antigone into the next century and it’s likely those at an age of studying the play will have been more gripped by its modern acknowledgements.
For those unfamiliar with the play, Sophocles based his Theban myths on legendary rulers of Thebes to comment on very topical issues of women in society and the political state at the time. This for me is the most important aspect of his work, and disappointingly was missing from this staging.
To review, the original plot of Antigone tells the story of a young woman, aptly named Antigone, the daughter and sister of Oedipus and his mother Jocasta (yes, that’s where the Freudian concept comes from) who has recently lost her brother, Polynices to a recent quarrel and fight with the pair’s other brother Eteocles. With both brothers dead, their uncle, now King Creon condemns Polynices soul may never lay to rest or be mourned and anyone found doing so will be sentenced to death.
This part stays true in this staging, and as the plot unravels the audience discover the undertone of a love story and the value of action and consequence.
However, Antigone’s character, played by Holly Georgia was not the strong convicted icon of female strength I envisioned her as, her soliloquy was hyperbolic and she lacked empathy.
It appeared the central characters were the chorus who were played out by the “archivists” or information robots but with so much emphasis on cultural translation and historical reference, their function felt a little lost.
Catharsis, in the form of the messenger who aims to bring news of violent acts (which should occur off stage) was subtle, but infact, in one instance, actually staged – and I felt no spiritual renewal as you should with any of the Theban plays.
The star of the show for me was by far the sound and lighting which jolted me out of my seat at times and stirred my own soul a little, particularly when Polynices own soul’s cries were replayed.
There is so much potential in what this play promises to be in its beginnings with the strong source of Sophocles material, however its execution felt half-hearted. What it does successfully show though is that we have learnt nothing from history, and that in itself is a tragedy.
Review by Nadya Jaworksyi
For more information about upcoming shows at lakeside please visit https://www.lakesidearts.org.uk
