Reviews: The Burial At Thebes |
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Critics Circle (15-Oct-07) [ Young Critics' Circle Review ]
No two performances are ever the same and this year’s revival of Burial at Thebes proved this.
With changes made in various places, this artefact of classic Greek tragedy was brought from the past into the modern day. The play begins with the falling of sand into a bowl with a single light creating a sense of the Gods giving life to the earth. The cast then present themselves onstage to the sound of a voice singing what can be imagined as an ancient prayer of worship at the bottom of Mount Olympus. This signals the beginning of a story that has lasted over 2400 years. The story of Antigone.
It is the story of moral dilemma. Antigone has been criminalised for burying her brother, who unlike her other deceased sibling, was a traitor to Thebes. Her outright admittance to Thebes disgusts King Creon, who cannot believe his own niece would betray him and go against his word. However, Antigone argues her actions may have been against the interests of Thebes but were anything but the right thing to do in the eyes of the Gods. This is a play of politics against ethics, Human against Superhuman.
The strength of the Chorus is unquestionable. The obvious attention spent to getting the sound and harmonies right means that the audience really feels a sense of the community and people of Thebes speaking out. Sometimes they are celebrating, others they are storytelling, in particular the story of man, which contains outstanding evidence of ensemble work and choreography. that demand audience attention. However, at other times they tell us of their fears and more importantly, their anxiety on who they should trust. Antigone or Creon. The synchronicity and power of the cast’s voices make this the most important feature of the performance.
Another remarkable feature is the set. Unlike 2005’s performance, the stage is no longer traditionally based around the image of a Greek amphitheatre but rather a city that has undergone several attacks, which for me brings about the feeling of being part of a community caught within a warzone rather than observing an ancient tribe. Constantly, the set and lighting are used to create spectacular imagery on stage, complemented further by the sound and music created on stage by the cast, both with instruments and their voices.
It may have been down to my greater understanding of the story of Antigone and of Sophocles stories but this performance seemed a lot stronger than the performances of 2005. Both in the way the cast tell the story, particularly Paul Bentall, who plays Creon, who presents a king who wants to do only good for his people but in the end fails and pays the ultimate consequences for his mistakes, and the way that the context of the play fitted for an audience today. Who makes decisions for us? And will we suffer because of them?
This is an excellent performance of Antigone and worth seeing as it leads the ancient play well into the twenty first century, and the future.
Kieran Crosby
Ellie Gavigan
The Burial at Thebes Review
I felt that the playwright set out to make the audience feel sorrow for Antigone as her other brother, Polynecies, was not allowed to be buried as he fought in a battle against the city. The punishment for this was that he was to rot outside for the birds to eat. Antigone’s uncle, King Creon, is quite stubborn and doesn’t want to admit defeat as he knows he is wrong. When Creon’s son tells him to admit defeat Creon gets quite annoyed and protests he is not wrong. Creon’s son then decides that he will not live without Antigone and says he will die with her. Antigone & Creon’s son die; this is when Creon’s wife hears of the news. Creon’s wife then kills herself; this is very hard-hitting for Creon & he admits that he made the wrong decision and mourns. This makes the audience feel grief for Creon even though he got in it himself. I think that the playwright succeeded very well in doing what they set out to do as it all worked very well and made sense.
The director approached the task by keeping the acting as strong as it could be and the clothes at a minimal. The actors all multirole once throughout the play and to change in and out of characters they just either put a cloak on or took it off. This made it very easy & simple for the actors to change characters without any quick changes. This is a Brechtian technique as it almost breaks the fourth wall which I find very effective as it seems a lot more realistic done in this style. I feel that the director’s production of the drama illuminated the play as it made the audience feel sadness in the right places as well as comedy and this was all to do with what the actors were doing and how they acted. The director has been helped by the designers by making the setting quite simplistic it meant that the director could have the dress quite simple. Furthermore, the setting helped the director because it looked like a Greek Amphitheatre so the actors could get a feel for the real setting.
I felt the actors approached and responded to the challenges set down by the playwright and the director very well. I thought that Creon had a very challenging role as he loses his niece, son and wife all in the same day. He performed extremely well and was one of the strongest actors in the casting. However, I thought that Ismene and Antigone didn’t approach the opening as well as they could of as they didn’t seem as upset as you’d expect them to be. All the actors smoothly without hesitation changed from different characters which made it very easy and enjoyable to watch.
In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed the play and thought that the actors were excellent to watch and they made it a very compelling performance. I thought that the focus on the bowl at the beginning was quite essential and was very well done as this is significant at other times in the play. However, I thought the staging was too simple and it could have had a little more detail to make it seem more like a Greek amphitheatre. Nevertheless, I thought it was an excellent play and I would recommend it to all.
The Burial at Thebes Review
This year, The Burial at Thebes returns to the playhouse, after its vast success in the 2005 run. It stages an intriguing Greek tragedy, bringing a story from the past into modern day life. This year’s production was also directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace. Only this time; it’s better than ever before.
In the ethical story of Antigone, her brother lays dead, where he fell in a rebellion against the authorities. Antigone finds herself in a dreadful dilemma. She is stuck in-between: burying her brother and therefore leaving a weight of shame upon her family, or obeying her King Creon, but therefore producing a huge offence upon the Gods. She is in a mighty battle to either follow her heart or her mind.
The play begins with a single stream of light, engaging the audience to the see the silver grains of sand falling down into a bowl of water; creating a sense of tension and atmosphere. This in all sums up the play as a whole; simple but effective.
The set itself, designed by Jessica Curtis, is complex. The edgy, semi-circular setting gives the play not only a feeling of claustrophobia, which also symbolises some of the characters, but it also gives the audience the feeling that they are in a war zone. The costumes are also vital; again simple. Each character wore a cloak and only removed them when they revealed their character costumes underneath. This was very effective as when each character removed their cloaks, it showed a lot about their feelings and personality; in this case Antigone removes her cloak with pride, this symbolises the headstrong, compelling character that she is.
The chorus can only be described as exquisite. They captured the essence of the play at vital points and the harmonising certainly captured the audience’s attention. The soothing sound gave the audience the illusion they were in a Greek amphitheatre. The chorus, in my eyes, were the greatest aspect of the performance.
The simplicity and great meaning of this play makes it a worthwhile and must see performance.
Melissa Armstrong.
Review: The Burial at Thebes
Two brothers of Antigone;one left to rot a traitor, the other buried with honour. Antigone’s uncle, Creon, now crowned king of Thebes, bids no one to give the traitorous brother a proper burial or death will be theirs. A choice summons Antigone: leave her brother in disgust whilst disobeying the gods or bury the corpse to the echoing tones of Creon’s new law. Which one will she choose? Her life or the life that was once her brothers?
Modern vs. Traditional. Director Lucy Pitman –Wallace’s ideas for the set were based upon buildings destroyed in the Iraq conflicts. For me this gave a certain " je ne sais pas" where the actors were almost part of the set, immerging from their cleverly wrapped clokes to become new characters. A particular aspect of the play that enticed me was the classical robes mixed with the striking lighting and on stage music performed by the cast. A combination of both modern and traditional that no one in his or her right mind could ignore.
Although I found some of the acting pushing on false, these feelings were quickly cast aside by certain stronger characters that strung the play along to create the intricacy of the novel. The chorus I felt excelled making the right movements and gestures without over exaggerating to complete each moment.
Overall as I was leaving the theatre walking at a steady pace stopping to talk to other people, I realised that this must have meant I enjoyed the play as I was neither avoiding others or running out of the theatre which usually means it was not to my taste. Performances, Set and production definitely fell in to my extremely well done category. As a 16 year old girl who has not always found books or plays such as burial at Thebes on the top of my to do list, I was overwhelmed by how easily I understood the content of the play and secondly how much I thoroughly and genuinely enjoyed it. If it were to be a choice of watching the TV for the fifth night in a row or popping to The Playhouse to catch The Burial at Thebes, then it would definitely be the latter.
Millie Turner
The Burial at Thebes
4th September 2007 - Nottingham Playhouse
Laura Rudolph
With only one disastrous experience of Tragic Greek theatre under my belt I
didn’t have very high expectations for the performance. However my opinion
has been swayed thanks to Lucy Pitman-Wallace’s take on Heaney’s fantastic
adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone. Rather than sticking to tradition,
Heaney has given the play a 21st century voice which makes it really
accessible for today’s audience. The plot was easily followed, although
perhaps it would not have been followed quite so easily had I not known the
plot before hand. However, although the performance was not particularly
heavy, I felt that it was very rich in a great deal of aspects of theatre.
Abby Ford, Antigone, played the character to such a depth that it was clear
to see that she wanted her to be understood to be a 15 year old girl. This
was something which was not so obvious in the last showing of ‘The Burial
at Thebes’ at the Nottingham Playhouse. I thought this was an interesting
take on the character and one which I thoughroughly enjoyed. Unlike the
previous showing, the audience had a feeling that Antigone was extremely
vulnerable, not only because of her crime but simply because of the
unavoidable fact of her age. It gave us a stronger emotional attachment to
her character because of the sympathy we automatically feel for children.
The use of a chorus is one traditional element of a Greek tragedy, which has
fortunately been kept, and it really did complement the performance.
Physical movement and singing were all part of the ensemble work and they
really were exquisite. The songs set the mood for the scenes with the use
of simply a guitar and a clarinet or occasionally A cappella. Dance and
physical theatre helped to tell the story by acting out what happened whilst
a narration was said. Although the dancing wasn’t flawless it accompanied
the singing beautifully. Every character wore a cloak which seemed to
determine whether or not they were in character. It appeared to me that how
easily they took their cloak off showed us how much, or how little, they
wanted to become their character. The ensemble work done for this element
of the production really showed me how well the group worked together. It
truly was beautiful company work.
I would recommend this revival of ‘The Burial at Thebes’ to everyone
interested in theatre. Although it has all the typical aspects of Greek
theatre, it is surprisingly not typical of one. It lasts only just over one
hour, which seems sensible when showing such a genre to an audience in 2007,
but this gripping hour is one of superbly directed, organised and performed
theatre.
Lucy Pitman-Wallace’s production of Seamus Heaney’s Burial at Thebes was a fresh, fast paced drama, with lots of tension held throughout. With very little knowledge of the Antigone story myself, I was impressed with the ease of which I followed the story; and this is all down to Pitman-Wallace’s individual direction, and the actors’ flawless performances.
Seamus Heaney’s translation of Antigone is easy to follow, and pleasurable to watch and listen to. None of the effect or power of the original play has gone; and for me, I am able to understand a great deal more. So I commend Pitman-Wallace’s choice of text.
Abby Ford’s portrayal of Antigone was incredible. Her thoughts and feelings were transmitted to the audience at all times, and her interaction with the other cast was natural. Also, Paul Betnall’s Creon was outstanding. I believed every moment of his performance, and comparisons could be drawn to politicians of today. Haeman, played by Daniel Rigby, was a strong performance within my eyes also; as the audience truly felt his anguish for Antigone.
Interspersed between the acting, there were moments of music, song and dance. These moments heightened the sense of religion and power in the production; and also gave the play another level. A key moment of song and dance was when we first met Haeman; this was an inventive way to introduce the character. Nick Sands deserves praise for the work he devoted to creating such a varied music collection. And also, Jeanette Nelson needs recognition for the work she did on the voices of the characters and singers.
A very carefully choreographed moment was when the actors performing in the chorus returned to the main characters. This was performed fluidly and naturally, and gave the play a professional appearance. Sue Lefton was responsible for the movement on the stage, and these moments are a credit to her work.
The production had a very simplistic set, with an amphitheatre created on the stage, with one single entrance and exit at the centre back. I believe that this set was good as your attention was not drawn away from the action taking place. However, I do feel that the set was slightly generic in appearance, and it would have been more in keeping if it had appeared more like a Greek setting.
There were only three props used in the production, and these were three large bowls. Originally the bowl was used to contain the dust Antigone threw over her brother, the next bowl contained his blood, and the final bowl contained a fire. I believe that it was a good decision to have simplistic props, this is for the same reason as the set, the attention is focussed purely on the acting.
Lighting effects were used in the play mainly to show the Gods looking down upon the characters. Also however, the lights were used to show the punishing brightness of Greece. They gave the performance a harshness and brutality also.
Overall, I believe that Lucy Pitman-Wallace and Zoë Waterman have achieved a great production; and that also the actors and crew performed a smooth, professional spectacle. Excluding the set, I cannot find fault with their performance of this timeless classic of Greek theatre. A thoroughly enjoyable production.
Robert Throup
Review of ‘Burial at Thebes’ at Nottingham Playhouse 4th Septmeber 2007 by Rachel Knott (Heanor Gate Science College):
Seamus Heaney’s popular version of Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy ‘Antigone’ is back at Nottingham Playhouse, with a more contemporary approach to the characters and set, whilst still retaining the traditional Greek chorus to tell the tragic tale.
When Creon takes over as King of Thebes from his niece Antigone’s dead brothers, he declares that only one of them that fought the civil war should be buried: Etocles. He denies the other brother Polyneices a proper burial because he fought against the city, despite it being dis-respectful to the gods not to bury a body. It is Antigone’s decision to defy the law forbidding her brother’s burial and her uncle in order to respect the gods that puts pressure on Creon’s authority as a new leader.
The new set, comprising of a semi-circular bombed out building is rather different from the naturalistic and traditional amphitheatre that the 2005 production used, but in my opinion the less naturalistic one in the 2007 production is more suited to the more contemporary style of Heaney’s translation. Not only are there parallels drawn between Creon and Gordon Brown due to their recent acquisition of great power and the responsibility that they have in using their authority to do the ‘right’ thing in a world full of wrongs, but the ‘teenage’ behaviour explored in Abby Ford’s defiant Antigone and her relationship with her family in this production makes this Greek tragedy very relevant for us today.
Although the presence of a chorus onstage throughout could have been confusing, the smooth movements and the use of cloaks to disguise and reveal each character was faultless, with music and song being used to express the thoughts and feelings of the inhabitants of Thebes who were affected by Creon’s decisions in his rule. The simplistic style of the piece also made it easy to understand as well as captivating, as it relied on the actors to tell the story between themselves, giving it a good pace throughout its 75 minute length. David Hobbs was brilliant in leading the chorus in clarifying the story and providing the strong performance of Paul Bentall as Creon with opinions from his ‘agents.’
Different moods were displayed through coloured lights on a cyclorama behind the set which really enhanced the atmosphere in the build up to the tragic climax, but often I didn’t notice some of the subtler changes in mood. However this was only due to the enchanting nature of the chorus, who often added to the atmosphere themselves. For example the way they displayed grief by pressing themselves against the set in a way which made it my favourite moment, because it almost pre-empted the tragedy in a subtle way.
All in all, the 2007 production retains all the successful ideas of it’s 2005 predecessor whilst building on the role of the chorus and the individual characters to make them easy to relate to. Antigone’s words of: ‘you can’t pluck honour from a bush you haven’t grown’ present a moral that we can all listen to: you need to respect others to gain respect yourself.
Mark Benton
The Burial at Thebes
‘The Burial at Thebes’ returns to the Nottingham Playhouse this year as a "re-imagined" piece. Seamus Heaney’s adaptation of Sophocles’ ‘Antigone’ was given its UK premier at the Playhouse two years ago – gaining excellent reviews in the national press – and now, director Lucy Pitman-Wallace is sure to achieve the same level of praise for this re-vitalised version of the famous tragedy.
The play itself is Heaney’s translation of the original; written to mark the centenary of Dublin’s Abbey theatre. The famous poet has added a youth to this vintage piece, drawing inspiration from current affairs such as the war in Iraq, furthermore the normally heavy language of this story has been simplified and given a driving rhythm and pace, all of which makes the play easy to understand, and enjoyable to watch.
The mix of old with new is continued and enforced through the direction and staging of the piece. Pitman-Wallace approached the play with a clear idea of what she wanted to achieve, imaging this version to be much more claustrophobic than the previous, and wishing to include the chorus much more this time around. Both these points have definitely been achieved. Designed as the interior of a bombed out building, the set is simplistic and open, yet imposing in its magnitude, giving the feeling that the characters are trapped inside the situation with no chance of escape. This is enforced by the area in the centre of the stage reminiscent of a sparring ring in which the main confrontations take place.
Perhaps the most successful part of the production is the change in the use of the chorus as the dominant driving force of the storyline; this is very successful and Pitman-Wallace has without doubt achieved everything she could have wanted from the chorus. The actors themselves stay on stage throughout the entire play as members of the chorus giving a kind of narration to the story through actions and songs. They then take their cloaks off, revealing their true character, to act out the scenes. This is all done quickly and smoothly to ensure the play’s intoxicating pace is not disturbed. However, the play’s main strength lies in its actors, who were all of an excellent quality, delivering inspiring performances, flawless singing, and even a little bit of musical prowess.
Not being a great fan of Greek tragedies, I confess that I did not expect to be impressed by the production, however, the excellent direction and acting makes this play more than just another version of ‘Antigone’, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Overall, ‘The Burial at Thebes’ is an excellent adaptation of the classic tale and is well worth going to see.
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