Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Lost in chaos
By Smriti Daniel
“The Future is not to be known; our present care is with the present; the rest is in other hands…” What’s right? What’s wrong? Where does your loyalty lie – with your family or your king? What do you choose when you cannot be sure, when neither option appeals and when nothing seems true?

Antigone, the Sophoclean masterpiece, poses these questions and more. As the play is enacted, the audience is drawn into the moral quagmire it creates. Everyone has an entirely understandable perspective, but which one is right? The prophet has his own take on the issue as does the chorus, but should the protagonist listen to their advice or disregard it? The only truth they know is that it will be God who decides the matter in the end and that is not an entirely comfortable thought – for that can only mean that the rulings of man are of little consequence in comparison.

In a fortnight you and I will have the opportunity of seeing some of these issues resolved – more or less to our satisfaction. Admittedly the perfect venue for the play, the steps of the chapel boast an almost Greek-like structure, and are quite believable stand-ins for the entrance to a castle, largely thanks to their somewhat ancient, royal air.

Through the course of its five day run, the venue will echo not only with the voices of the main protagonists of Antigone, but with the ‘poetic glory’ of the chorus as well, who will very obligingly highlight the fate of king Creon. The twelve-member chorus in their character of the Theban Elders, robed in great Greek togas will deliver the fate of Thebes. As a dramatic device the chorus is a key part of plays, not least because in many ways it plays the role of narrator and tells the audience how to react to events occurring on stage.
The chorus led by Vernon Moses and Mario Aththanayake, also features Krishanth Jayarajah, Andrew Alphonsus, Dylon John, Ryan Rebeira, Dilesh Dias, Dilukshan Angunawela, Jehan Gunasekara, Asitha Wasalathanthri, Shiran Perera, and Shahen Amaratunga.

The Drama Society believes in offering its students as much variety as possible and so Greek tragedy forms the latest addition to a list already bulging with comedies, musicals, and Shakes-pearean plays. The appeal of Antigone partly lies in its “great political significance,” according to Vinodh Senadeera, director of Antigone. He adds that while we may not have death by stoning, blatant injustice still occurs and that the comparisons between our world and that of Antigone’s are never ending.

The production is from July 15-18, 2005, commencing at 8 p.m. Tickets are now available at the Barefoot Gallery and the College Office. This production is sponsored by Dwellco, MTV Channel 1, YES FM , Classic Radio. The official newspaper is The Sunday Times.

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