The Burial at Thebes

THE BURIAL AT THEBES | SEAMUS HEANEY’S TRANSLATION OF SOPHOCLES’ ANTIGONE

Performed by MA Acting Classical students

Director Martin Wylde
Set & Costume Designer Sammy Dowson
LX Designer Ben Jacobs
Sound Designer Lex Kosanke

Movement Director Andrei Biziorek
Vocal Coach Morwenna Rowe
Stage Manager Fiona Kennedy
Deputy Stage Manager John Nicoll
Production Managers Ben Krebs, Shaz McGee
Scenic Artists Jonathan Brown, Zowie Wise
Costume Supervisor Karin Schuck
Wardrobe Mistress Kayla Miles
Construction Louis Carver, Chad Griffiths

Music Composition and Performance Ewa Pasikowska

OVERVIEW

The war is over, but the conflict is not. Seamus Heaney’s poetic rendering of Sophocles’ great tragedy, explores the social tension present immediately post-war. Where do our loyalties lie, with family or state?

This strikingly beautiful and intense retelling of Antigone’s story delves into the sacrifices made by those who engage in non-violent civil disobedience, how institutional power can lack a human heart, and how peace after war is never simple to achieve. What is the cost when the dissident speaks 'truth to power'? The political world leaves little space for love, but love is also dangerous in her demands.

‘Love leads the good astray,
Plays havoc in heart and home;
You, love, here and now
In this tormented house
Are letting madness loose.’

By permission from Faber & Faber.