PREVIEWED: ANTIGONE

We meet Justin Murray, the director of the Greek- inspired 20th-century version of ‘Antigone’ by Jean Anouilh.

Why Anouilh’s ‘Antigone’?

I went to the library one day and I read Anouilh’s ‘Antigone’, previously mentioned to me by my dad. I fell in love with it. It’s a very unusual script because it’s an English translation of a French play and that has a huge effect on the general sound. It’s much more poetic than some English drama. I love the story and I like this particular version, especially the way the story is put together. I think with the script you have feel that it’s right and you know it when you find it. It’s a bit like falling in love.

How does Jean Anouilh’s ‘Antigone’ relate back to that of Sophocles? 

It relates back to Sophocles in almost every respect. It’s interesting because the first stage direction is set without historical or geographical implications. All of the Greek names have been preserved though and there are many Greek references, but there are also many modern elements like bars, fast cars and cigarettes. The script, the characters, the themes and the story are all relating back to the Sophocles version with extra 20^th century French bits. It’s a period when existentialism is beginning. A year after this production was written Sartre writes ‘ Existentialism and Humanism’. It almost takes the story a level deeper than the Sophocles script. It’s sometimes directly about human life, happiness and how to find it, which is not overtly talked about in the Sophocles original.

The play is very innovative with regards to exploring character motivation. How do you think that influenced the actors?

Immensely. I’ve been trying as much as I possibly could to make sure people had a sense of why they are doing what they’re doing. Antigone’s a very complex person. She is burying her brother because she feels that’s her duty but there’s much more to it than that. I’ve also been getting the actress who’s playing Antigone (Izzie Price) to write a blog, imagining that she is the character (http://freeantigone.wordpress.com). There’s a lot of posts there about her motivations, thoughts and her relationships with her family, as well as her fiancé.

Favourite character?

They are all terribly interesting and layered. Even the smaller characters are not two-dimensional. I would say it’s joint between Antigone and Creon. Antigone is someone who we would all want to be. She has an amazing, almost superhuman refusal to compromise, but at the same time she’s a frightened 20 year-old girl. I also sympathise with Creon though. Anyone who’s ever been put in a position of responsibility will understand Creon’s point of view.

Why do you think people should come and see this production?

I think people should come and see this production because it’s half the price of the Gala show…We’ve got a fantastic cast. It’s a wonderful script, which is not only poetic, but also thematically complex. The issues explored in the play are relevant to the action on stage, but they are also relevant to any time in history. It’s a great visual spectacle as we have been paying a lot of attention to the art direction; it should be visually powerful in terms of the lighting and costumes.

Venue:

The Assembly Rooms

Dates:

Thursday 24th Jan at 7.30

Friday 25th Jan at 7.30

Saturday 26th Jan at 7.30

Tickets:

£4.50(DST)/£5.00(NUS)/£5.50

Bookings:

http://www.dur.ac.uk/dst/show.php?show=1014