Cirrus@Austlit

'HOW DO THE UNWRITTEN LAWS OF PERSONAL CONSCIENCE SURVIVE WHEN SET AGAINST THE LAWS OF A SOCIETY AND A NATION?

'Antigone is a child of war, like too many in our world. She asked a simple question thousands of years ago that remains too difficult for us to answer even to this day, as so many recent events have demonstrated. What do we do with the body of a terrorist, a murderer, who has brought destruction, death and horror to our community when that terrorist is our brother. Our own flesh and blood?

'Like Hamlet, Joan of Arc, Galileo and Sir Thomas More, Antigone inspires us with her courage, fortitude and impenetrable strength of conscience. But her excess of feeling and fundamentalist zeal are hard to reconcile in a world crying out for unity, order and the rule of law in a time of chaos. Her uncle, Creon, selflessly places his state above the welfare of his family, pursuing a principle with the sort of consistency of will that we cry out for in politicians who so often stand for nothing. Where is justice between these extremes? Antigone stands against the monolith and brings her society to a reckoning it sorely needs.' (Production summary)

'He loved himself. She loved her brother.

'He wants to purify his genetic line. She can live with her nature. A tragedy all queered up with science, a Clone Chorus of Bondi Boys, and a leader in red budgy smugglers who'll stop at nothing to perfect his XYs. Throw in fake sun, beach balls, a paddle pool, global warming and a cool clown called AntigoneX. Who needs catharsis in this heat?'

Source: Theatre Works.

'A great city has been torn apart by a civil war between two brothers. In the aftermath, both lie dead – one hailed as a hero and lying in state, the other condemned as a traitor and dumped in a carrion pile. From the ashes of their conflict rises a dystopian state under a new leader – a career politician who rose to power by dint of her ruthlessness.

'Grieving and heartbroken, their sister Antigone challenges the leader for the right to bury and mourn her dead brother with dignity, sparking a furious act of rebellion that will shake the city to its foundations.

'In this lyrical adaptation of Sophocles’ timeless tragedy, award-winning Brisbane playwright Merlynn Tong adds an urgent modern twist'.

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.

'This is angry.

'This is personal.

'This is not what you think.

'Playwright Elena Carapetis (The Gods Of Strangers, Gorgon) brings the first heroine of western drama raging into the 21st century in this cheeky, anarchic and subverted take on one of the world’s most revered classic plays.

'Carapetis takes us from Ancient Greece to the modern-day in a kaleidoscopic collection of vignettes that will make your head spin and leave your jaw on the floor. This is a rejection of the patriarchy, a love letter to girls and pop princesses, and a tribute to every Antigone reincarnated, from Malala to Emma to AOC to Greta.'

Source: State Theatre Company of South Australia.