Most of us hear the words "Greek tragedy" and run the other direction, imagining endless hours of people in white linen or endless nights of reading SparkNotes for a high school literature class. Yet, this fall's "Oedipus & Antigone," performed by the Tufts Department of Drama and Dance in the Balch Arena Theater, is far from dry or tedious.
The performance features two classic plays condensed into a palatable two hours. Both are well-paced enough to remain interesting without skimping on detail, and the pairing of them brings depth to the work. "[The plays] will have extra resonance when experienced compactly as one work," Director Downing Cless said.
The material is heavy and could have been unwieldy, but the entire cast navigates the language and format with ease and flair. They elegantly bring the piece to life, infusing it with enriching spirit. Each performance is unique and believable, bringing depth to the characters and the show as a whole.
The inclusion of visual influences from the Bronze Age spices up the piece's imagery; the theater features everything from columns and chitons to a very real, richly colored setting.
Interestingly, the main characters from the first play — with the exception of two roles — compose the chorus in the second play and vice versa.
In Cress' words, "Each actor had their moment."
This style contributes to a sense of a group effort in the show. Even within the chorus' sequences, lines are divvied up between actors and remain interesting in potentially boring speech scenes. Actors were encouraged in rehearsals to cultivate a feel for each ode through improvisation rather than direction, and each one comes through as organic and interesting.
When asked to describe the piece, Cress said, "[It is] an ancient murder mystery and then a gripping story of civil disobedience."
The plot is complicated and, naturally, tragic. You may recognize Oedipus' name from the Freudian complex named after him. He is a self-exiled Corinthian prince who flees his home in an effort to protect his parents after hearing a prophecy that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother. Unfortunately, the King and Queen of Corinth are not his true parents, and the action of the play concerns his discovery of this fact and its consequences.
At the start of the play, Oedipus (senior Jonathan Hendrickson) is the King of Thebes, a city-state afflicted with a terrible plague. The Oracle at Delphi, a famous prophet connected with the god Apollo, has claimed that killing the murderer of the former king, Laius, will cleanse the land. Another prophet, Teiresias (senior Emily Pantalone), is called upon to tell Oedipus who the murderer is. At first unwilling to say what he knows, Teiresias is finally forced to admit that Oedipus is the murderer of Laius. Furthermore, he is the source of corruption that curses Thebes.
As it turns out, Oedipus did kill Laius, not knowing who he was, many years back outside the city. Furthermore, Laius was Oedipus' father and — in marrying the then-widowed Queen of Thebes — Oedipus married his mother and had four children with her. Upon this discovery, she hangs herself, and Oedipus gouges out his own eyes.
"Antigone" continues the story, concerning Oedipus' children, in particular, his daughter Antigone (junior Melis Aker). Sometime after Oedipus dies, his brother-in-law, Creon (senior Matthew Gurren), is anointed king.
Oedipus' sons have killed each other in battle, each dying on the other's spear, and Creon has decreed that because one was honorably defending Thebes, he should be buried with all due respect. The other, fighting on the enemy side, will be left to rot, and anyone attempting to give him last rites will be a traitor. Antigone feels that the decrees of heaven are more important than the decrees of a mortal king and goes to commit her brother to the underworld properly.
She is caught and arrested, and sentenced to be imprisoned in a cave. Her betrothed, Creon's son — and thus her cousin — Haemon, insists that this isn't right, and goes with her to the cave. There, she hangs herself, and he, fighting with his father, falls on his own sword and dies.
The combination of the two epics makes perfect sense, and themes from the first carry through to the second. While the plays are separate and distinguished from one another, they share enough in common to make the juxtaposition meaningful without being repetitive.
In all, the adaptation and execution of "Oedipus & Antigone" are equally elegant, and the show remains fresh throughout. It is audience-friendly, drawing us into a world that could have been very inaccessible and possesses a unique and engaging liveliness that makes the production enjoyable to watch and experience.
"Oedipus & Antigone" is running from Oct. 27 to Oct. 29 and Nov. 3 to Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. each night. Tickets are $7 with a Tufts ID, and $1 on Nov. 3.
