Antigone at NC Stage Co.
The NC Stage Community Tour production of Antigone proves that, even almost 2,500 years after the play’s debut, the themes of duty and honor still resonate.
Sophocles’ tragedy of Oedipus’ children lends itself well to the company’s black box theater and a production with sparse props and minimal set dressing. Initially, I thought it was going to be a modernized interpretation, but it's relatively faithful to the source material — and built to travel.
With little to pack up, the show can easily be moved to any of the community spaces with which NC Stage has partnered in this exciting endeavor, ranging from unhoused shelters to correctional facilities. The goal of the Community Tour is to remove barriers to those who wouldn’t get to experience live theater, and director Patrice Foster takes the challenges of varying spaces and makes any potential setting feel natural.
Having a chorus that literally sings is a wonderful touch, and Dax Dupuy and Gabrielle Story make for a fantastic vocal duo. The addition of Dupuy’s guitar makes the lines especially haunting and fitting for the mountains.
Playing the titular character, Glenna Grant’ gives an incredibly moving performance, with the actor imbuing an undercurrent of grief in every line. Elias Newman (who uses they/them pronouns) as Ismene is likewise exceptional, bringing an innocent touch to the role as they battle between their internal personal grief for their dead brother Polynices and duty to the new king, Kreon.
Speaking of Kreon, Clayton Arnold does an impressive job in his debut performance, bringing in an intensity that matches Grant’s grief. And Jon Stockdale shows off commendable range, doubling as a guard and Hamon — Kreon’s son and Antigone’s betrothed. As the guard, he brings a comedic touch into the Greek tragedy, and as Hamon, he has such an obvious broken heart that amplifies the sorrow felt by the audience while we watch the story unfold. He mourns for the future that he and Antigone could have had, and pleads with her and Kreon both to relent on their respective stances.
The one act performance comes in at just under an hour and, like all Greek tragedies, there are triggers galore. Well aware of the material’s contemporary potency, the pre-show introduction offers warnings for mentions of suicide and Oedipus’ transgressions. Like these disturbing details, the play as a whole still stands up against the test of time — which, to me, proves that people overall will stick to the themes that have been ingrained in us.
Antigone runs through Sunday, Aug. 13, at NC Stage Co. For details and tickets, visit ncstage.org.
(Photo courtesy of NC Stage Co.)
