Why Jean Anouilh’s Antigone?
First produced during the German occupation of France, Antigone is a story of resistance, of a young woman’s stand against an authoritarian ruler. Anouilh’s rewriting of the ancient Greek play turns it into a political and social commentary, as well as a moral one; this in turn makes it a play relevant to all time. This modern version of the play is often also suggestive rather than historical in its accuracy, which opens it up to different interpretations around the world.
The biggest appeal of this play is in the fact that its protagonist is a young woman with a mission, a conviction that she is doing what is right and that she has every right to do it for that reason, even if she dies as a result of her actions. This play can be interpreted more as a social than a political play, as a woman’s stand not just against an authoritarian ruler and political system, but against a patriarchal system where she is belittled, sidelined, humored, and where her voice has no value. As daughter, niece, sister, and fiancé, she is loved, but not taken seriously as an actor on the stage of life.
Given recent developments in countries around the world like Iran, Afghanistan, and even Pakistan, the Theatre Wallay team thought the time was ripe for a production of this play, recognizing the struggle of women throughout history, and today, for the right to exist, and individual identity, and for the right to be heard and taken seriously as human beings equal to men in terms of intelligence, capability and feeling, and with the same claim upon the world as men have.
With the support of the French Embassy and the Alliance Française d’Islamabad, Theatre Wallay performed Antigone (in its Urdu version translated by Shaukat Niazi) at the Alliance premises on 25th May 2023, and at The Farm at Bani Gala on 27th and 28th May 2023.
Director: Fizza Hasan
Assistant Director: Usama Ahmed Khan
CAST
Chorus: Adil Yousaf
Nurse: BB
Ismene: Ayesha Tahir
Antigone: Sanaa’i Muhammad
Minahil Ramil
Saboora Marium
Sara Pasha
Maria Habib
Creon: Casim Ovais
Hemon: Zia ur Rehman
First Guard: Safeer Ullah Khan
Second Guard: Ammar Khalid
Third Guard: Aadarsh Ayaz
Messenger: Ramil Aftab
Page: Iyaad Zaydan Rizvi
Set Design: Fizza Hasan, Fahad Tariq
Sound and Light Design: Zidaan Hayat, Usama Ahmed Khan
Costume Design: Fizza Hasan