★★★★½ Extraordinarily powerful theatre that feels urgent and timely, yet timeless.

Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre, Sydney
October 11, 2016

From the unsettling crashing of drums at the start of the production to the aching strains of Bach’s cantata Ich habe genug (It is enough) at the shattering denouement, Sport for Jove’s production of Antigone is gripping theatre.

^{Janine Watson, Elijah Williams, Louisa Mignone, Andrea Demetriades and Thomas Royce-Hampton. Photo by Marnya Rothe}

First performed two millennia ago around 441BC in an Athenian amphitheatre, this new adaptation of Sophocles’ tragedy by Damien Ryan (who also co-directs with Terry Karabelas) feels urgent and desperately topical, while remaining faithful to the original source material.

Twin brothers, Polynikes and Eteocles, sons of Oedipus, lie dead on the battle field, having fought each other in a civil war. Oedipus’ brother Creon, now the ruler, orders that Eteocles be buried with full military honours, while the body of Polynikes – who fought against Thebes – be left to rot in the sun. Anyone who tries to bury him will be killed. In defiance of the decree, Antigone, sister of the brothers, buries Polynikes, setting up a struggle with...