Lesson 3, 26/3/15

In the lesson today we explored the two different versions of Antigone. With my partner Phoebe, we explored Version 1 of Antigone which contrasted majorly with Version 2. The version of the play I explored used very simplistic language which often became humorous although I felt that it sometimes took the intensity away from the scene. Also, it did not highlight Antigone's religious beliefs that led her to bury the body of her brother- instead it portrayed Antigone as a rebellious figure. Perhaps this was done to suit the modern audience; making Antigone rebellious for moral instead of religious reasons may make her more relatable. The other version of Antigone was written with  almost no punctuation, apart from hyphens to indicate pauses, or changes in ideas. Perhaps the writer left it this way to give the actors  more freedom to interpret the text the way they wanted to. In total, the two different versions of the play portrayed Antigone’s character very differently, and the language also changed Creon as well. In version 2, he is aggressive, and speaks to Antigone coldly, whilst his language in version 1 is friendlier. An example of this was that in version 1, Creon tells Antigone that he can’t believe she buried Polyneices, and asks her to deny it, whilst in version two, he has an accusing manner, saying that “it is my duty to have you punished”.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the version of the text that i was given, I personally the other version of the play as the style of writing and language was raw, edgy and gave the actors a chance to experiment with a challenging scene.

After we explored different versions of the text, we were then put into groups. We were told that we had to make a short scene (no longer than 5 minutes) that summed up Antigone, although we could fit it to our own interpretations.  

My group decided that we wanted our piece to be set between two gangs. Creon, who in our scene was called "Big Mac" was naturally the leader of the gang. Haemon, who was known as "Killamanshankwa" in our scene was Creon's side kick of the gang. Polyneices was known as the traitor of the gang as he had tried to move to another gang, although he was shot (by his brother Etecoles) whilst trying. The leader of the gang- Big Mac said that he was a traitor of the group and he couldn't be buried. Antigone who was known as "Tiggy" demanded her brother to be buried. Big Mac refused, but Tiggy did so anyway. The scene ended when Big Mac found out about the burial and wanted to punish/ torture Tiggy, but she had already killed herself. Me and Sherene played the part of Tiggy (we shared the role) which I found extremely fun to play as it was interesting to take on the part of a female gang member who was rebelling against the leader. I liked the gang idea that our group came up with and i also think we used appropriate language to suit the theme, for example the names of the characters. The language used also added comedy to our scene, which was what we were trying to achieve. 



























We then watched everybody else's scenes and how they used their own interpretations to develop Antigone. Here are my notes for the scenes:

Tim’s group:

• Set in a extremely wealthy mans mansion/castle.

• A hilarious scene- Nice use of accents and stereotypes to create humor which the audience thoroughly enjoyed.

Susanna's group:

• Set in a school

• The chorus was a group of gossiping girls which was highly effective as they spoke simultaneously which made it clear that they were the chorus

• Creon was a Head Master, who was evidently the dominant figure who controls the rules. Often school students disobey the head teacher, which is similar to Antigone rebelling against Creon. 

Cameron’s group:

• Set in the Big Brother house.

• Realistic style acting as the characters argued constantly- just like the actual show

• Creon was represented by the big brother as all the housemates complained to him and was seen as a godly figure as he was ever-present. 

Nina’s group:

• Set within a Facebook group chat, whilst the chorus was represented as Siri which was brilliant for comedy. The use of multimedia was also excellent and well timed.

Roseby's group:

• Set in a  roaring 20's america gang-style theme.
• Gloria took on the role of Creon which was brilliant as she embodied an imposing, aggressive leader
• Elements of comedy between Gloria and those who were of a lower status to her

Eric’s group:

• The theme was slightly unclear although the characters were extremely clear and so was status

• The portrayal of Antigone and Ismene was excellent, because they were two young fiery sisters that were faithful and loyal to one another, turning Antigone’s crime more about family than religion.