(Rated 4/5 )
And now I can
genuinely give this production a higher score J (Please see my previous review of opening preview night.) This time I
really felt emotions, thought hard with the characters about the issues,
arguments and conflicts and felt completely engaged with what was going on.
Well done to all! As I said before maybe it wasn’t fair of me to review the
very first performance and expect so much, but that said I have seen other
previews that certainly affected me much more and were more engaging. This time
I felt confident and safely carried along with the drama. Last time I felt
highly anxious, willing the cast to do well, but cringing that it wasn’t
happening for me.
On this occasion
I went with a small group of people. We had a brilliant time during the play
and discussing over a meal afterwards. The following incorporates reactions
from us all and thank you to my friends for their interesting, insightful and
entertaining comments and allowing me to add them to my review.
The theme of
this play is tyranny. This time that fully came across – not simply the
tyrannical Creon, but also the bullying from Antigone, who in some ways, and in
some cultures old and contemporary could be seen as a terrorist herself. Jodie
Whittaker as Antigone was less the petulant child she had seemed before, and
Christopher Eccleston’s Creon’s internal self-deliberation was visible. Their
debates felt like bullets aiming at and hitting their targets even though those
targets were not outwardly wounded. Yet I did feel the wounds between father;
Creon and son; Haemon as they verbally and physically fought over their views
and the condemnation of the Haemon’s betrothed, Antigone. Big shout out goes to
Luke Newberry – I was moved by Haemon’s truth and he made impact on his
unbending father to the point of Creon having to literally attempt to beat the
opposition out of his son, with an effort so strong that he split his shirt open,
scattering buttons and revealing his strapped-up chest. Creon-Chris rapidly
pulled himself together in a way that felt so much the character rather than
the actor trying to protect his dignity. Chris was convincing to the majority
of us, to the point of forgetting it was him rather than Creon, though one of
us did think “Creon was mediocre”.
Later in the
play a messenger, played by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith has to inform Creon’s wife Eurydice
– Zoë Aldrich – of her son’s fate. This was such an emotive interaction both by
the informer and the mother. It reminded me of several scene-elements in
Shakespeare in which one character is giving news of, or experiences of another
character that we never see. It obviously disobeys the playwriting rule of show
not tell, and yet when the mother’s reaction is this important and this well
performed it is a more poignant choice.
Many different
choices were made this time in performance, in particular by Chris Eccleston.
Even though playing a tense character, he seemed more relaxed and in tune with
the process, as were the rest of the cast, maybe taking his lead and all going
with the process – still split in their views but more connected in their
delivery.
The entire
audience seemed to sense the piece on this occasion. Creon got many laughs –
some maybe in shock - in particular with his “These women are neurotic”. How familiar
is that to many of us, perhaps more so as women, from men who don’t seem to
have time for feelings and are in positions where they are obliged to put
matters of state or work before family and relationships. Of course it can also
reflect differences between men and women in any case in matters of the head or
heart. I suppose what was sad and disappointing about this version of the play
and what it brought up was there seemed to be little anger, sadness or even
indignation from the audience. Antigone and her sister Ismene (Annabel Scholey)
are facing death at this point and yet we don’t feel it’s as catastrophic or
final as that. This piece almost feels more like a black comedy than a tragedy.
With all the
fatalities and Creon’s anguished cry of “I am nothing” at the end, we ‘ought’
to feel how absolutely devastating this all is. But I still did not. And this
time I was sitting in a really good seat to see everything. I hate to say it –
yes I promise Chris Eccleston remains one of my greatest stage-loves – but at
that point I didn’t feel a truly broken man, but someone acting that and in a
few minutes he’ll be out of character and smiling at curtain call. And so he
did to deservedly enthusiastic applause from the audience. And this time also
the actors returned for a second time, led by Christopher and Jodie alone for a few
moments, before welcoming back the rest of the cast, with a big smile on Chris’
face as he checks both sides that everyone is together before leading the bows.
I’d like to
give – oh gosh this sounds like an acceptance speech and it so isn’t ;) – a final
shout out to Michael Grady-Hall, who performs for longest in this production,
as he patiently watched the monitor showing the progress of the battle between
Antigone’s brothers, and makes notes on what he sees – a reflection of The
Lives of Others.
This was for
sure “better than staying in with Columbo”.
P.S. At this
point in many of my reviews I am giving my experience of the theatre itself –
this I have already done with The National Olivier Theatre. But I would like to
write a little about Chris himself. And at this point Chris feels more
appropriate than Christopher. As you may have gathered from some of my previous
Restricted Reviews I enjoy meeting the actors afterwards at the stage door and
as themselves – or maybe I should say as much of themselves as they are able to
regain having lent much to their character. I have encountered Christopher a
few times. Understandably ‘outside’ he has been a little closed off in a kind-of
public-persona. I can fully empathise with that. This time, after one of his Antigone
performances, I felt I was meeting Chris. He was relaxed, charming,
appreciative and funny. He took in comments about the production, thanked us
and said he’d pass them on to the rest of the cast. He cheerily joked with
myself and a friend about the process of autograph-signing and photo-taking and
made sure that everyone got their turn and all they wanted from the experience.
A generous, kind-hearted gent!
Antigone – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2012
Twitter: @RestrictReview
