Spanish-born philosopher George Santayana wrote in 1905, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Two thousand years earlier, Greek playwright and philosopher Sophocles said, through the mouth of the heroine Antigone, "When we forget the past, the past returns."
Well, here it comes again.
In the River Stage production of Sophocles' tragedy – in a version by Bertolt Brecht – millenniums melt away and militarism marches forth.
Directed by Frank Condon, this "Antigone" is powerful, provocative and more relevant than anyone could wish it to be. It comes at the audience full-force, beautiful in staging and unrelenting in emotion.
The play bears an eerie resemblance to the current war in Iraq – much of the language can be heard practically verbatim coming from the White House or the halls of Congress – and Condon plays on these similarities to say that this war, like that war, like the Vietnam War that was raging when he first read the play, and like the Russians' war in Afghanistan, is not about fighting evil but about unchecked power, greed and individual conscience. It's about the conflict of personal morality vs. political immorality.
In Sophocles' original version, there is a war between Argos and Thebes, where Kreon is commander in chief. Antigone has two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, who want to assume power. Polynices enlists the help of Argos but is killed in his attempt to take Thebes. Kreon labels him a traitor and decrees that his body shall not be buried but left to rot, a blow to his family and an act that damns him in the eyes of the gods.
In Brecht's version, Kreon has started the war with Argos to subjugate and plunder it. After his brother, Eteocles, was killed in battle, Polynices tried to desert, and Kreon had him killed as a traitor. The refusal to grant him proper burial was further punishment for Polynices' "disloyalty." And it served as a warning to anyone else who might be considering protesting the government's actions.
Kreon has ordered that anyone who tries to bury Polynices will be put to death.
Enter Antigone, sister of the two dead soldiers, intent on giving her brother's body the respect that it deserves and her religion requires. She covers her brother's naked body with sand, knowing the fate that awaits her for doing so.
That's the history. Now, in the present, Kreon (played with cocky self-assurance by Gregg Koski) arrives fresh from the battle scene in a military jumpsuit, carrying his helmet. On the steps of his government building, he delivers news of success against Argos. A banner behind him proclaims, "The War Is Over." Parallels between this and President Bush's carrier landing and "Mission Accomplished" speech are inescapable.
So, too, are other elements of the play – none of which has to be more than tweaked to make it pertinent today.
Kreon – dare we notice? – wears a flag lapel pin as he proclaims, "War makes new rights and wrongs."
The council of Elders (Sophocles' chorus) easily becomes the American Congress, granting the ruler power to conduct his war, then – much later – deciding perhaps they had been too hasty. (The fact that the two women on the council here are dressed in pantsuits as they claim to have been misled is especially delicious commentary.)
The set, designed by Kale Braden and built by stagecraft students, is an impressive "marble" creation – huge steps leading to a columned entry.
All the performances (there are 15 characters) are good, and several are outstanding. In addition to Koski's Kreon, Rosalia Seyman's Antigone is a well-crafted characterization. Self-confident and empowered, she is a heroine of the first order.
Spencer Tregilgas gives Hamon coiled energy as he confronts his father, Kreon. His fists clench and his legs tremble. And Dan Featherston in the showy role of the dying soldier who delivers the truth about the war is excellent.
Call The Bee's Jim Carnes, (916) 321-1130.
