Clear and Lucid Production of Sophocles' Tragedy
Based on a stage production that played the Edinburgh Festival and London's Barbican Theatre Ivo van Hove's revival of ANTIGONE in a new translation by Anne Carson offered a chilling comment on despotism and its consequences.
Played on a largely bare two-leveled set, with a massive, illuminated circle at the back of the stage, van Hove concentrated on Kreon's willful rule, as he condemned Antigone to death for daring to want to bury her brother - whom Kreon had previously declared a traitor. Despite numerous attempts to change his view, notably from his son, Kreon remained firm and by doing so precipitated a cycle of destruction extending far beyond the limits of his mortal rule.