On 27, 28 & 29 June, the National Theatre of Greece opens this year’s Athens Epidaurus Festival with a world premiere, presenting Ulrich Rasche’s production of Sophocles’ Antigone in Nikos Panagiotopoulos’s unsurpassed translation. Three years after his thrilling version of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon – anyone who saw it will long remember the hypnotic intensity of the performers marching endlessly on a huge rotating stage with live music in the background – the subversive German director returns to the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus to direct a dazzling cast of Greek actors in one of Sophocles’ most powerful works. This co-production between the National Theatre of Greece and the Athens Epidaurus Festival will be performed solely at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus.

Antigone: the clash of two worlds
Ulrich Rasche returns to Epidaurus three years after his captivating staging of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, a co-production with Munich’s Residenztheater. Anyone who saw it will long remember the hypnotic intensity of the performers marching endlessly on the huge rotating stage with live music in the background, elements that run through his work.

Now, Rasche develops his radical stage language in Antigone, Sophocles’ deeply political play that explores the difference between the individual and the citizen and the limits of personal will within an organised society, as well as the identity of a functioning democracy. Highlighting the archetypal character of Antigone, the German director poses crucial questions about her conflict with Creon, who he views not as an authoritarian but as a genuine protector of the interests of the State, and therefore of democracy.

Faced with the consequences of a civil war, Creon dictates that because Polynices had led a rebellion against Thebes, he should not receive a proper burial. This decision underlines his conviction that loyalty to the state is of paramount importance and that treason must be severely punished in order to maintain social stability. His actions might well be considered justified if seen in the light of pragmatic governance and the need to maintain civil order. But where do the boundaries between moral responsibility and political power lie? How can enduring democracy be ensured?

Having tackled ancient drama at a number of major European theatres as well as Epidaurus over recent years (Seven Against Thebes and Antigone in 2017, The Persians in 2018, The Bacchae and Electra in 2019, Oedipus in 2020, and Agamemnon in 2022), Rasche once again presents his pioneering theatrical vision to audiences at Epidaurus in an Antigone performed by an outstanding cast with a ten-member chorus of talented young actors and four on-stage musicians.

Director’s note
I have always dreamed of staging Sophocles’ Antigone at Epidaurus. It may sound rather strange, but my choice had less to do with the character of Antigone herself than with the figure of King Creon. Antigone, as we know, is the heroine of the play. She stands up to the authoritarian power of the king. She puts forward her own ideas about what should happen. Her strength and resistance to authority are admirable. But don’t we live in a society today where it is a simple matter for anyone to play the heroine or the hero, to speak and act according to their own standards? Perhaps we often forget that Creon’s mission as king is to defend the state and its laws? I think it’s important to look at the king and his arguments, which are so well-articulated by Sophocles in his tragedy. As the Greek people are well aware, democracy is hard-won over centuries, founded on individual freedoms as well as obligations. In Antigone, it is Creon who defends this system of government. Even if he ultimately takes the wrong path, even if he proves unable to rise to the occasion in the way that democracy requires in order to function, it is worth examining Sophocles’ arguments more closely, focusing on his character.

In any event, I am incredibly happy to have the opportunity to delve into the complexities of Antigone and the line of reasoning put forward by the tragic poet with a cast of Greek actors at Epidaurus.
 

Ulrich Rasche