Sophocles’ ancient tragedy about Oedipus’s cursed children is distilled into a compelling, highly physical three-hander to open La Boite’s 2026 season.

When Antigone’s brothers kill each other on opposing sides of a bloody civil war, their uncle takes the throne of Thebes. King Creon decrees that one brother will be buried with honour, but the other is to be left untouched, eaten by animals and eroded by the elements.

Unswayed by her cautious sister Ismene, Antigone defies the law and sets out alone to bury their brother. When her deed is discovered, she is sentenced to death, and her unrepentant acceptance sparks debates about loyalty, principle, and duty to family, state, and the gods.

Maddison Burridge in Antigone. Photo © Dean Hanson

Antigone was written around 440 BCE, and its arguments about the nature of justice have remained strikingly relevant, frequently revisited and reinterpreted in the ensuing millennia. This classical work opens La Boite’s 101st season, co-directed by Artistic Director Courtney Stewart and Nigel Poulton in his mainstage directorial debut.

At the core of La Boite’s Antigone is a...