Antigone

We saw Antigone a couple of weeks ago, this is a play by Sophocles, so written more than 2000 years ago.  It's kind of incredible to think that something that old can still speak to modern audiences.  I mean we have Shakespeare, but that's only a couple of hundred years, and I always feel it needs a bit of judicious editing at some points.  There was certainly some editing to this version, they put it into a modern setting, though still 1970s police state, and the chorus had been split into individual characters, and there were perhaps fewer mentions of Zeus than in the original version.

It was really good, finally a non-Irish play at the National Theatre.  I guess I had gone in with quite low expectations, thinking it was going to be one of those weird Greek tragedies, with people in masks.  But it was actually really good, I quite liked the modern setting, perhaps some people think it's unnecessary, and perhaps it was, but I thought it was done well.  Creon was an ex-Doctor Who, the first one of the reboot, he didn't last long as a Doctor and was replaced by Tennant.  He was really good.  I think Antigone was a little bit weak, it was unfortunate, because the character is quite good, it's like she didn't know how to project her voice, which is a bit weird for an actor.