WILLIAMSVILLE-Rock River Players will present Sophocles's Antigone in a contemporary translation by Paul Woodruff from Sept. 13 to 20 at Williamsville Hall, 35 Dover Rd.
Antigone was the first in the last set of plays, the Theban Plays, written by Sophocles (c. 496 - 406 BCE). Followed by Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, the tragedies center on the characters of Oedipus and Antigone and the myriad challenges they and their (rather odd) family face.
Antigone, according to Brittanica.com, "is the daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. She is willing to face the capital punishment that has been decreed by her uncle Creon, the new king, as the penalty for anyone burying her brother Polyneices." Her brother has just been killed while attacking Thebes, and as punishment for his attack, Creon forbids his burial. "Obeying all her instincts of love, loyalty, and humanity, Antigone defies Creon and dutifully buries her brother's corpse. Creon, from conviction that reasons of state outweigh family ties, refuses to commute Antigone's death sentence."
Tragedy soon befalls the House of Thebes in multiple impacts. "At the play's end, Creon is left desolate and broken in spirit. In his narrow and unduly rigid adherence to his civic duties, Creon has defied the gods through his denial of humanity's common obligations toward the dead."
Central to the play's theme is this conflict: "obligations of civic versus personal loyalties and religious mores," say organizers in a news release.
Tracy Berchi, playing Antigone, adds the play is "perennially relevant as long as we're living in a patriarchy."
Berchi is joined in the cast by Geof Dolman, Sean Fitzharris, Phil Kramer, Dyana Lee, Nick Morgan, John Ogorzalek, Casey Parles, Alex Lacey, and Rose Watson. John Moran directs. Production staff includes Bahman Mahdavi, producer; Peter Broussard, lighting director; Rose Watson, costumes; Jess Guerrero, lights and audio.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 13 and 14, and Sept. 19 and 20, at 7 p.m; Sunday, and Sept. 15, at 2 p.m. General admission tickets are $15; $12 for students and seniors. They are available at the door or online at rockriverplayers.org . For more information, email info@rockriverplayers.org . The venue is ADA compliant.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.