Unit 12- The OPC of Antigone

The OPC of Antigone
We are performing Antigone in the Brighton Open Air Theatre. Antigone was first performed as part of the festival of Dionysus around the year 441 B.C. It would have been performed outdoors, like our own performance, but it would have been performed in a far larger 'amphitheatre', so in some ways our own performance will be in a reminiscent open air setting similar to that of the ancient Greeks. Within the festival of Dionysus, Antigone would have been performed as part of a competition, pitting different plays against each other so lots of pride was at stake, if a play was not popular the play write may not be asked to compete the following year.

In Greek times, actors and audience were limited to only men and the acting was believed to be far more melodramatic and over the top as the actors wore masks throughout the whole play. The masks represented the characters and hid the actors identity so large hand and body gestures were common as facial expressions couldn't be used to show emotion or character. While we will not have this problem all the way through the play we are thinking about using masks for some of the chorus pieces, so we may need to take on board a similar acting style to the ancient Greeks in some scenes. The chorus within Greek plays represented the common people/ the audience and were used to help explain the story and events through the eyes of the every-man.

Antigone like other Ancient Greek performances in the festival of Dionysus would have only been performed once like our own performance in May, though unlike our own play the Ancient Greeks had a long time to prepare and rehearse -up to a year in some cases!

The original Greek plays were based on Ancient Greek religion and were a series in which the stories linked and followed on from each other based on myths and legends, for example Antigone is part of a trilogy. Many characters from Ancient Greek plays would appear in multiple plays as the majority of the stories overlapped characters and settings so the audience would be familiar with the characters and would likely know the story before they saw it, unlike our own modern day audience. 

The play in its original performance conditions would have been highly religious and ceremonial and the audience of the time would have respected this and it would be extremely important to them culturally. Theatre in ancient Greek times was therefore a very spiritual occasion and an audience would not only enjoy the theatre, but also see it similarly as a modern audience might see going to church or praying to God. This idea of worship is a distinct difference between Ancient Greek and modern theatre as a modern audience would not view theatre in a religious or spiritual way. In our modern imagining of Antigone we are trying to give our performance a spiritual, almost ceremonial feel as we are adding choral singing of a song call Oya by Ibeyi, which sounds in its current state very eerie and spiritual a little like the singing you may hear in a monastry or a religious event.

The original performance of Antigone would have also been highly competitive and probably tense due to the fact the plays would have been competing against each other. The audience would watch the plays like a modern audience might watch a sporting event. Our audience though will likely be far more relaxed and focused on enjoying the play. Our audience members will be allowed to bring and eat a picnic and so the whole atmosphere will be far more relaxed than Antigone's original performance conditions would have been.

Ancient Greek audiences would have almost definitely known the story of the play before going to see it. This tends not to happen in modern theatre, unless people are seeing the show more than once. Our audience will probably not know the story or the characters unless they are familiar with Greek plays or myths, so that will create a very different experience to how it would have been in Antigone's original performance conditions as the audience will be experiencing the story with fresh new eyes.

Overall in the era of the ancient Greeks, theatre was of great cultural and religious importance, it was something that the majority of people did. It was free which made it more accessible for all people to gather and watch. When compared to the role of theatre in our modern age, it seems that modern theatre is far less important to most people. Its seen as a form of entertainment and one that dwindles in comparison when compered to other forms of entertainment and media. People have to pay to see modern theatre and its cultural significance is not even close to that of the ancient Greeks who saw theatre as a part of life and religion.