Event
Antigone by Sophocles
In September 2008, in the 600-seat outdoor Cerf amphitheatre on Reed College Campus, Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon will present fourteen fully professional performances of an English version of Sophocles Antigone, an enduring story of the clash between authority and the individual. English version by CGTO artistic director Keith Scales. Performances: 4.00 pm Saturdays and Sundays. Special schools performances Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at NOON. Ticket prices: $20 regular, $15 seniors, $10 students. Our annual complimentary seminar for teachers will be offered on the first day of performance.
The plays of the Greek canon have been in production for countless generations in every part of the globe and are considered, all over the world, to be the standard to which all drama aspires. These plays gain new resonance in every age, helping to remind us of our common humanity. Stories and characters from Greek drama are freely appropriated by popular culture today, but the original versions are hard to find except in books which is not the place for plays to be experienced. Portland, Oregon is the only city in the United States to sustain a theater company devoted exclusively to the preservation of those great dramas, vehicles for the thought that led to the founding of Western civilization.
SOPHOCLES' ANTIGONE
Synopsis
Sophocles' Antigone draws on the mythological history of the city of Thebes and the doomed line of Labdacus, ancestor of Oedipus. In this indictment of human obstinacy, religion is set against rulership, age against youth, male against female and love against law. On a deeper level, the structure of the play draws on the myths of the despot who would dare to defy the gods; and the descent of Persephone into the underworld, whose disappearance from the face of the earth renews the seasons.
THE BACKGROUND:
After the death of Oedipus the rule of the city-state of Thebes fell to his twin sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, who each agreed to reign for a year in turn. At the end of the first year, however, Eteocles refused to yield the throne. Polyneices went to Argos, the home of his wife, and persuaded the Argive ruler to launch an attack on Thebes. At the height of the battle, champions from each army drew lots to decide who would meet in single combat at the seven gates of Thebes. The twin brothers drew each other, fought, and killed each other in the same moment. The Argives withdrew and Creon, Oedipus' brother-in-law, became ruler of Thebes by default - for the third time in his life.
Creon's first official decision was to bury Eteocles with full honors, but to leave the body of Polyneices exposed, in disgrace.
THE PLAY:
Oedipus also had two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. As Sophocles' play begins, Antigone is attempting to enlist Ismene in a clandestine burial of their brother Polyneices, in accordance with the precepts of ancient religion. Ismene is afraid to defy Creon and Antigone sets out to do the deed alone. She is discovered in the act and brought before Creon, who condemns her to be walled up in a cave.
Antigone is betrothed to Creon's son Haemon, who pleads for her life, but Creon is immovable. However, Creon changes his mind when he is he is warned by the blind prophet Tiresias that his actions are drawing down plague upon the city, and he undertakes to bury Polyneices. This task accomplished he goes to release Antigone, but arrives too late. She has hanged herself, and Haemon is mourning over her body. Haemon at first attacks his father, then turns his sword upon himself. At the height of his grief Creon learns that his wife, Eurydice, has also killed herself, cursing him with her last breath.
Creon is now ready to bid goodbye to life himself - but his advisors, the Chorus of Elders, insist that he must live with his grief, in order to fulfill his duty to Thebes.
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LocationCerf Outdoor Theatre
Reed College, SE Woodstock
Portland, OR 97214
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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