Antigone by Sophocles

International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama 2015.

The National Theatre in Belgrade, with a history of 150 years of theatre production, presents Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, offering to the audience a unique blend of Serbian coloring and ancient Greek culture, through the contemporary approach of Jagoš Marković, one of the most prominent theatre directors of Serbia. In an era where the victims are categorised according to the side they come from, or creed, or nation, the act of Antigone which against the law of the king/power decides to bury her brother, honouring the unwritten laws of the heart, represents an essential, great and compassionate act of freedom and love, even though “the circle of death continues”.

▪ The performance will be surtitled in English and Greek

Plot
After the death of Oedipus, the king of Thebes, his two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, become Thebes’ rulers. They agree to reign in alternate years, but after the first year, Eteocles refuses to surrender the throne. Polyneices joins forces raised by Adrastus, king of Argos, and attacks Thebes. In a duel during the battle, the two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, kill each other. Creon, their uncle, assumes the throne and orders that Eteocles should be buried with hero’s honors, whereas Polyneices, who sinned in attacking his native city, should remain ignominiously unburied to be eaten by dogs. Mandate is explicit: the penalty for trying to bury the body is death.

Antigone, their sister, disobeys the order and following the unwritten laws buries her beloved brother. Creon condemns her to be buried alive in a cave, disregarding the desperate pleadings of Haemon, son of Creon and fiancé of Antigone. When Creon, rebuked by Teiresias, eventually yields and goes to set her free it is too late. Antigone has already put an end to her life, to be followed by Haemon and even, Queen Eurydice, Haemon’s mother, who also kill themselves. The tragedy builds as Creon laments over his fatal errors and the loss of his loved ones.

In Antigone, Sophocles deals with the question whether the unwritten laws, which found the ethical existence of a society, can carry more weight than the written laws of the State. The conflict between Antigone and Creon takes the dimensions of a double tragedy. The two opponents refuse to compromise because each one acts obeying to its own duty, believing it as infallible with a universal validity.

Translated by Miloš Đurić
Director: Jagoš Marković
Dramaturge: Molina Udovički Fotez
Set Designer: Jagoš Marković
Costume Designer: Bojana Nikitović
Stage Speech PhD: Ljiljana Mrkić Popović
Sound Design: Vladimir Petričević
Producer: Borislav Balać
Assistant Director: Ivana Nenadović
Organisation: Nemanja Konstantinović
Stage Manager: Sandra Rokvić
Prompter: Danica Stevanović
Painting: Matija Vučićević
Assistant Set Designer: Magdalena Bulajić
Assistant Costume Designer: Stefan Savković, Srđan Perić
Make-Up Master: Dragoljub Jeremić
Lighting Master: Miodrag Milivojević
Sound Master: Tihomir Savić
Stage Master: Zoran Mirić

Cast:
Antigone: Vanja Ejdus
Creon: Aleksandar Srećković
Ismene: Vjera Mujović
Chorus: Predrag Ejdus
Tiresias: Mihailo Janketić
Sentry: Bojan Krivokapić
Messenger: Marko Janjić
Eurydice: Sloboda Mićalović Ćetković
Haemon: Momčilo Otašević
Entourage, Guards: Milan Šavija, Zoran Trifunović

To facilitate the public in Nicosia, free shuttle transport from Nicosia to Curium will be offered, for the two performances of Antigone at the Curium Ancient Theatre, in 6th and 7th of July.
Departure: 18:15 (parking opposite the Handicraft Centre in Athalassa Avenue)
Reservations are obligatory on 7000 2414, until the 3d of July, 2015.

Entrance: 10€ │ 5€ (Students, Senior Citizens, National Guard)
Free entrance for the persons with disabilities after proof of ID

Tickets:
- at SOEASY Kiosks in all cities,
- at TIME OUT Kiosk in Paphos,
- online at www.SoldoutTickets.com.cy