Antigone

Sophocles

Play

Synopsis

What is fair? What is humane? Antigone defies an edict issued by the ruler because to her it seems inhumane. A woman defies the man in power. Her main category is humanity; his is the system. Can their views ever be reconciled?

The conflict is ancient yet modern: Today, it is all about positioning yourself in real life and standing up for your values. How much do we value our democracy? What are we willing to sacrifice in order to guarantee freedom and justice? What means do we employ? With whom should we enter into a debate – and where does it no longer pay to argue?

About 2400 years ago, the Greek poet Sophocles created an impressive testament to these issues with “Antigone”. Following the brutal struggle for power in Thebes, King Creon forbids the burial of the “traitor” Polynices, whose sister Antigone defies the law, risking her own life. To her, divine law, family obligations and human dignity are more important than state decrees.

What happens when the law no longer reflects justice and when obedience means moral guilt? Antigone and Creon are irreconcilable in their positions; both are convinced they are acting in the name of what is right. “Antigone” confronts us with the necessity to make a stand; it emphasises the value of expressing individual opinions and reminds us that every society is judged by the way it handles opposition.

Sophocles lived in the 5th century B.C. in Athens and is one of the great three playwrights of ancient Greek drama, together with Euripides and Aeschylus. He wrote about 123 plays, of which only seven survive, including the tragedies “Oedipus Rex”, “Antigone” and “Electra”. These plays are among the most frequently performed tragedies in world literature and have been inspiring playwrights for thousands of years.

Sarah Henker studied at the Institute for Applied Theatre Studies in Gießen. At the Salzburg State Theatre, she has, for instance, directed productions of “The Robbers”, “The Wolf Must Go!”, “Gabriel” and “Untersberg”. Her work frequently focuses on current social discourse and on the linking of classical material to contemporary issues.