(Posted January 26, 2018)

Courtesy: Juniata Theatre Department

Courtesy: Juniata Theatre Department

Huntingdon, Pa. — From Feb. 15-17 and 22-24, the Juniata College theatre department will present the Greek tragedy Antigone. Each performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Suzanne von Liebig Theater, Halbritter Center for Performing Arts. Tickets can be purchased at juniata.edu/theatre.

Written by Sophocles in 441 B.C., Antigone is a classic tale about a woman who defies Creon, ruler of Thebes, by burying her disgraced brother, whose punishment was that his body would lie unburied and without sanctified holy rites.

"By going against the king, Antigone asks what the value of individual resistance is," says Leigh Hendrix, an instructor of theatre arts at Juniata who is directing the production. "And that's something people can connect with today."

After Antigone buries her brother, destruction and heartbreak dominate the play, which exposes the dangers of the absolute ruler, or tyrant, in the person of Creon, a king to whom few will speak freely and openly their true opinions. At the time of its release, Athenians, proud of their democratic traditions, identified with the folly of tyranny.

The play is translated from Greek by the poet Anne Carson. For more information about the theatre department at Juniata and its productions, visit juniata.edu/theatre.

 

--Written by Kayla Borden ’18 

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.