KATHMANDU: Mandala Theatre an among has been showcasing ‘Antigone’ since Friday. The drama is an adaptation of a tragedy written by Sophocles in around 441 BC. What makes this Mandala Theatre production unique is that the adaptations were strictly based on the medium of expression. Within an hour and a half, the drama made spectators laugh, empathize and at times even shed a few tears.
When Antigone decides to forsake her materialistic pleasures to become a figure of righteousness, in less than 10 minutes of the play, audiences are transfixed at the tragic turn of events that follow the character.
When she gives up her royal kinship to fulfill her responsibilities to a dead brother, feminist spectators were proud of the character’s unprecedented strength. When she later faces prosecution at the hands of her uncle/King, audiences feel a passionate hatred for the uncompromising Creone.
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The play is further tragic when the King takes not only her life, but also the life of her lover, the King’s son. Heamon, Antigone’s lover, travels a difficult road in deciding who to choose: his princess or his father. When characters within a play are capable of arousing such ranges of emotions, the drama automatically holds a magical grip over its audience, as did ‘Antigone’.
“While it is a good idea to use national theatre space to portray diversity in terms of literature, one of the reasons why I could not possibly relate to the play is that the meaning is lost in translation,” said Sama Gurung, an audience.
An enthusiast of the English literature, she said the play could have been better if the content was delivered in English. Adding further, she said, “Every actor today demonstrated an exceptional energy on-stage. The disturbances caused by power-cut, however, could have been mitigated.”
The half hour drama is slated to run every day for a month at 1 pm and 5:30 pm.
