Antigone: A drama of defiance
The Ancient Greek tragedy about the clash of loyalties between family and state. Joining Rajan Datar are Lydia Koniordou, Olivier Py, Mohammad Al-Attar and Rosie Wyles.
The play Antigone by the Greek playwright Sophocles was written almost 2,500 years ago, but to this day it is believed to be the most performed play- anywhere in the world. It tells the story of Antigone, a girl who ends up challenging the power of the ruler of Thebes, in a devastating battle of wills that pits family duty against the law of the state. So why does this story of civil disobedience still speak to people, and how was it originally received by its very first audience in Ancient Athens in the 5th century BCE? Joining Rajan Datar to discuss Antigone and its later modern interpretations are the acclaimed actor, director and former Greek Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou, the theatre director Olivier Py who staged Antigone with male prisoners at this year鈥檚 Avignon Theatre Festival in France, the Syrian playwright Mohammad Al Attar who鈥檚 the author of a new adaptation of Antigone about Syrian women refugees, and Dr Rosie Wyles, Lecturer in Classical History at the University of Kent, and author of 鈥淐ostume in Greek Tragedy鈥.
Image: Antiogne and the body of Polynices (Artist: Lachmann. Credit: Print Collector/Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Clip
-
Why going to the theatre was obligatory for every Greek citizen
Duration: 00:49
Broadcasts
- Thu 10 Jan 2019 09:06GMT麻豆社 World Service
- Fri 11 Jan 2019 00:06GMT麻豆社 World Service
- Sat 12 Jan 2019 14:06GMT麻豆社 World Service News Internet
- Sun 13 Jan 2019 15:06GMT麻豆社 World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East Asia & South Asia
- Mon 14 Jan 2019 04:06GMT麻豆社 World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East, News Internet & West and Central Africa
Featured in...
Stage and screen—The Forum
Artists and works that defined film, theatre and dance
Civilisations and wonders—The Forum
The people, stories and rituals that ruled the ancient world
Do you use US dollars even though they are not your country鈥檚 official currency?
Podcast
-
The Forum
The programme that explains the present by exploring the past