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View Winners → World Premiere of Jean Anouilh’s ‘Antigone’ Opens Sept. 26
Arcadia Weekly Sep 17, 2015
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Antigone. – Photo Courtesy A Noise Within
A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company in Pasadena, presents a world premiere adaptation of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone, translated and directed by ANW Resident Artist Robertson Dean, beginning Sept. 20 and playing through Nov. 20, 2015 (opens on Sept. 26). Antigone is the second production in the Company’s 2015-2016 BREAKING AND ENTERING season, preceded by the West Coast Premiere of David Ives’ translation of Georges Feydeau’s classic farce A Flea in Her Ear (Sept. 6-Nov. 22) and followed by All My Sons by Arthur Miller, in celebration of the Miller centennial (Oct. 11-Nov. 21).
This is only the second English language translation of the play since its American premiere in 1945.
Anouilh’s reimagining of the Greek classic roars with dramatic power – and poses questions about choosing between personal values and those of the larger society in which we live One of theatre’s most compelling heroines (known to audiences in both the Sophocles and Anouilh versions), Antigone accepts her fate with fearless grace – and dares herself and the audience to rise to the greater good.
“It is a great honor to have been entrusted with this new adaptation,” Rob Dean confided, “but the privilege carries with it responsibility—both to the play and to the woman whose heroism it celebrates. If my translation causes audiences to question the certainty of their own morals—or at least, to bring their value systems into high relief—then I will have done right by her.
“Antigone is the first and greatest heroine in all of Western drama, and is the template on which all others are based. The play is a wrenching portrait of a heroine who knows what matters, and who remains true to herself to the end. It asks, ‘What if you thought something was sacred but nobody else did? Would you hold true to your beliefs even if doing so ensured your own demise?’
“Our version of the play is set in a manner that recalls both the modern world and Ancient Greece—a staging decision that redoubles the play’s urgency and universal themes. Indeed,” Rob believes, “the parallel between the fall of ancient Greece and the present financial debacle in Athens is easily suggested; no word better describes the catalyst of both events than the fittingly Hellenic hubris.”
The production is set in the Royal Palace in Thebes in 1943; a large Doric column lies in decay around the stage, and the detritus of a civil war: the belongings of everyone who lived in the palace, from the time of Sophocles to the present, have been dumped into the room. In concordance with the classical unities, the action takes place in a day, and Antigone is well aware that she is watching her last sunrise, as the light goes from East to West.
Antigone reflects the theme of the 2015-2016 season at its most literal. Here the heroine will not break her single purposed view of life, forged by the gods themselves. When her uncle, Creon, chooses to not obey the gods, the entire familial structure is crushed, and chaos ensues..
Single ticket prices for Antigone start at $44. Contact the A Noise Within box office in person, via phone at (626) 356-3100, or online at www.ANoiseWithin.org for updated pricing and seat availability. A Noise Within is located on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue at 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107.
A Noise Within’s 2015-16 Season also includes A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau, All My Sons by Arthur Miller, our annual A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw, and Six Characters In Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello.
