Antigone

Eteocles and Polynices, sons of Oedipus and Jocasta, fought and died by each other's sword. Thebes, which Eteocles defended against his brother's assaults, is ruled by Creon, Jocasta's brother. As soon as the brothers are dead, the tyrant enacts a law to differentiate between the “good” brother and the “bad” one: citizens are strictly forbidden to bury Polynices according to the customary rites. Sophocles, who paid more attention to his characters' psychology than any of the other Greek poets whose work survived Antiquity, tells the story of the Eteocles and Polynices's sister, Antigone, and of her determination to honour both her brothers, as is her duty. Betrothed to Creon's son Haimon, she challenges the injustice of men to obey the laws of the gods and follow her heart, which doesn't distinguish between her kin. She will bury her brother, even if she then has to die. Satoshi Miyagi, with his deep knowledge of tragedy, has decided to further explore the strict distinction the West operates between “the good” and “the bad.” In the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des papes, the symbol of an authority that is wont to create such distinctions, but also a place whose large wall challenges and tames egos, the director has chosen to work on water, fire, and shadows to celebrate the true nature of all the characters with their numerous layers, within a story one might call archaic.

Of the one hundred and twenty-three plays written by Sophocles during the 5th century B.C., only Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Philoctetes, Ajax, Electra, and The Women of Trachis remain. At the Dionysia, the great drama competition of ancient Greece, Euripides's contemporary won the highest honours many times. During the twentieth century, Antigone, the third of his three Theban plays, inspired a composition by Camille Saint-Saëns and plays by Jean Cocteau and Jean Anouilh. Bertolt Brecht wrote his own version in 1948, based on Hölderlin's translation. More recently, Henry Bauchau's novels Antigone and Oedipus on the Road revisited the myth of this cursed family, trapped by the gods in a dire cycle.

Text Sophocles
Translation Shigetake Yaginuma
Direction Satoshi Miyagi
Assistant director Masaki Nakano
Music Hiroko Tanakawa
Stage design Junpei Kiz
Lights Koji Osako
Sound Hisanao Kato, Koji Makishima
Costumes Kayo Takahashi
Costumes making Yumiko Komai, Mai Ooka, Reiko Kawai
Hairstyle and makeup Kyoko Kajita
Props Eri Fukasawa, Kaori Miwa, Hiroki Watanabe
Technical direction Mahito Horiuchi 
Stage management Atsushi Muramatsu, Takahiro Yamada, Toshiki Kamiya 
Dresser Mai Ooka
Interpreter Akihito Hirano
French translation for the subtitles Corinne Atlan
Surtitles operator Takako Oishi
Dramaturgy Advisor Yoshiji Yokoyama
Administration Takako Oishi, Haru Tanji

With Asuka Fuse, Ayako Terauchi, Daisuke Wakana, Fuyuko Moriyama, Haruka Miyagishima, Kazunori Abe, Keita Mishima, Kenji Nagai, Kouichi Ohtaka, Maki Honda, Mariko Suzuki, Micari, Miyuki Yamamoto, Moemi Ishii, Momoyo Tateno, Morimasa Takeishi, Naomi Akamatsu, Ryo Yoshimi, Soichiro Yoshiue, Takahiko Watanabe, Tsuyoshi Kijima, Yoji Izumi, Yoneji Ouchi, Yu Sakurauchi, Yudai Makiyama, Yukio Kato, Yuumi Sakakibara, Yuya Daidomumon, Yuzu Sato

Production Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Co-production Festival d'Avignon
With the support of Japan Foundation and Spedidam for the 71st edition of the Festival d'Avignon
With the help of Kanagawa Arts Theatre