Throwback - Antigone UK Tour (Pilot Theatre, Derby Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East)

When I was informed that Roy Williams' new adaptation of Antigone was a not-to-be-missed show for my uni course, I have to admit I was really excited. I'm a sucker for a modernised retelling, and Antigone was a play that I had studied way back at Key Stage 3, and loved! I bought my ticket well in advance and when the time came for me to see the performance, I couldn't wait.

Stepping in to the theatre, I was immediately draw to the set. It was a dark, metallic structure reminiscent of a futuristic Doctor Who episode. Quiet, clunky, tinny noises were echoing from somewhere backstage, and smoke was trickling ominously down from the stage and in to the first few rows of the audience. The overall effect was sinister and forbidding. 

However, from the moment the action on stage began, I was taken out of the moment. Firstly, for whatever reason, be it the fact that the volume of the music was suddenly increased, or that the actors were not wearing microphones, the first few lines of the piece were completely inaudible (This was an issue whenever anything remotely scary/tense was happening on stage - and I was only sitting in the third row!). When the music finally did quieten down, and the audience could get some clue as to what was happening, they were met with Roy Williams interesting dialogue. Every character's lines were peppered over generously with slang which made it difficult to understand anything of what was going on. Regardless of status or situation, throughout the performance actors grimaced their way through (probably not short of) thousands of colloquialisms which 99% of the time didn't even make sense or seem to fit the character at all. I'm really sorry to say that the effect was laughable in retrospect. Not even the performers seemed to believe what they were saying. One character which particularly comes to mind was Mark Monero's menacing Creo. He gave a brilliant performance, and physically he oozed terrifying coolness, but his lines were made up of an overabundance of fillers and idioms that had an almost comical effect. Even Savannah Gordon-Liburd as the eponymous main character (obviously renamed 'Tig', because, y'know, slang'n'stuff) was afflicted by the less than brilliant dialogue issues. It seemed forced. It was unnecessary. I was less than impressed. 

Overall, I was disappointed. The original story is brilliant and lends itself perfectly to a modern retelling, and the majority of the cast was talented and charismatic. Unfortunately though, when all of the elements came together the result was less than brilliant. 

Verdict - 1 Star

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