Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an a ...
's play ''Antigone'' is a
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
inspired by
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
and the
play of the same name by
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
. In English, it is often distinguished from its antecedent through its pronunciation (, approximately ''an-tee-gon'').
Performance history
Original production
The play was first performed in Paris at the
Théâtre de l'Atelier
The Théâtre de l'Atelier is a theatre at 1, place Charles Dullin in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France.
History
The theatre opened on 23 November 1822 under the name Théâtre MontmartreEdward Foreman, ''Historical dictionary of French t ...
on February 6, 1944, during the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
occupation
Occupation commonly refers to:
*Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment
*Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces
*Military occupation, th ...
. Produced under Nazi
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
, the play is purposefully ambiguous with regard to the rejection of authority (represented by
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...
) and the acceptance of it (represented by
Creon). The parallels to the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
and the Nazi occupation are clear, however. The original cast included Monelle Valentin (Antigone),
Jean Davy (Créon),
Suzanne Flon
Suzanne Flon (28 January 1918 – 15 June 2005) was a French stage, film, and television actress. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the 1961 film '' Thou Shalt Not Kill''. Flon also received two César Awards and two ...
(Ismène), and André Le Gall (Hémon); the staging, decor and costumes were by
André Barsacq
André Barsacq (24 January 1909 – 8 July 1973) was a French theatre director, producer, scenic designer, and playwright. From 1940 to 1973 he was the director of the Théâtre de l'Atelier. He was the brother of Russian production designer Léo ...
.
British première
The play received its British première by the
Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
* Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
Theatre Company at the
New Theatre, London, on 10 February 1949. The production was
produced by
Laurence Olivier (who also played the role of Chorus) and had the following cast:
*''Chorus'' -
Laurence Olivier
*''Antigone'' -
Vivien Leigh
*''Nurse'' -
Eileen Beldon
*''Ismene'' - Meg Maxwell
*''Haemon'' -
Dan Cunningham
*''Creon'' -
George Relph
*''First Guard (Jonas)'' -
Thomas Heathcote
Thomas Heathcote (9 September 1917 – 5 January 1986) was a British character actor, a former protégé of Laurence Olivier.
He was educated at Bradfield College in Bradfield, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included '' A Night ...
*''Second Guard (a Corporal)'' -
Hugh Stewart
*''Third Guard'' -
George Cooper
*''Messenger'' -
Terence Morgan
Terence Ivor Grant Morgan (8 December 1921 – 25 August 2005) was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He played many "villain" roles in British film but is probably best remembered for his starring role in the TV historical ...
*''Page'' -
Michael Redington
*''Eurydice'' - Helen Beck
Adaptations
Actress
Katharine Cornell produced and starred in a 1946 production at the
National Theatre in Washington, D.C. Sir
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...
played the role of King Creon. Also performing were
Bertha Belmore
Bertha Belmore (22 December 1882 – 14 December 1953) was an English stage and film actress. Part of the Belmore family of British actors through her marriage to actor Herbert Belmore, she began her career as a child actress in British pantomim ...
,
Wesley Addy,
Ruth Matteson,
George Mathews, and
Oliver Cliff, and
Marlon Brando (as the Messenger),
Michael Higgins (The Third Guard). The production was staged by Cornell's husband
Guthrie McClintic. The translation was by
Lewis Galantière. It has since been published many times. In 1959, it was stated at the
East 74th Street
74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...
Theatre in Manhattan, New York City.
There was an English-languag
television productionfor the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.