Chorus members, Rudra Vishweshwar and Jerald Parks,
reenact the death of Polynices and Eteocles.
C THAMBUNDIT / THE DEPAUW
This weekend, DePauw University theatre will take on another classic for their upcoming spring production in Sophocles’ “Antigone.”
Written by Sophocles in 441 B.C., "Antigone" is set in Thebes, Greece, where Greek king Creon has refused to bury a dead Polynices for being a traitor to his city. Antigone then takes it upon herself to give her brother a proper burial, which does not go over well with Creon, for obvious reasons.
“We’re kind of taking the production in the direction of the rebels vs. the rule followers,” said director Caroline Good. “All Creon had to say was, ‘yea, this is really stupid, let’s bury him.’ But no, he doesn’t…[Creon] feels like he is the law…so much that…he ends up blinding himself.”
“We studied Acting One last semester with Caroline Good,” said freshman Laura Harmon. “It amazes me that there can be so many different interpretations of this play and I love this one especially.”
These interpretations can be seen through the numerous relationships between characters that have to consistently struggle with the themes of justice, war, love and family.
Senior Grace Lazarz, who plays the role of Antigone, has noticed this throughout the play.
“I love Antigone’s potential to be radiant in her fight against Creon,” said Lazarz. “I am still continuing to make discoveries about Antigone, which shows how complex these characters are.”
Harmon feels the same way about her character, Antigone’s sister Ismene.
“I love to play [her] because her character serves to show grief,” said Harmon. “She cries a lot, and I find crying onstage really fun.”
To many students, the cast of characters that interpret these relationships is one of the play’s strong points, on and off the stage.
“I think the personalities mesh really well together,” said sophomore Jerald Parks. “I think we really got lucky with the cast mates that we got.”
But what ultimately sets this play apart from other renditions is the setting. Instead of ancient Greece, the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic “inspired” world that one would see in The Hunger Games series.
“What I love most about our particular production is our awesome set design,” said Lazarz. “[It] supports this world, and creates a post-apocalyptic war zone of great visual interest.”
Parks agreed.
“[An] aspect that I really find cool is the technicality of the show,” said Parks. “The lights, the sound, the set. It makes it all aesthetically pleasing, and it’s very nice to enjoy.”
The play will be put on in Moore Theatre, and will run throughout the weekend. Friday and Saturday’s performances will be at 7:30 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday.