Reread 12/12/18:

EN
This play is still one of my favorite of all times. I love Antigone as a character, and remember fondly my first read - there are still some sentences that I remembered from my school years! This time, I annotated my copy!

FR
Cette pièce est toujours une de mes préférées. J'adore le personnage d'Antigone, et je me souviens avec nostalgie de ma première lecture - je me souvenais de quelques phrases datant du collège ! Cette fois, j'ai annoté mon édition !

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It was just great! I think I'll soon reread it to make a proper review: it really deserves it. I love to play Antigone at school, it was such a tragic and great role. It made me want to discover theatre!!

در این روایت از آنتیگونه، آنتیگونه به خاطر اطاعت از فرمان خدایان و جلوگیری از سرگردان بودن روح برادرش نمی‌میرد. او مرگ را می‌خواهد چون زندگی روزمره و بی‌شور را نمی‌خواهد. او خوشبختی ولرمی که کرئون به او پیشنهاد می‌کند را نمی‌خواهد . او به سازش‌ها و مصلحت‌ها نه می‌گوید. "نه" ای که آری را به دنبال ندارد.

I don't understand how someone could not love this.

ANTIGONE
Comprendre... Vous n'avez que ce mot-là dans la bouche, tous, depuis que je suis toute petite. Il fallait comprendre qu'on ne peut pas toucher à l'eau, à la belle eau fuyante et froide parce que cela mouille les dalles, à la tente parce que cela tache les robes. Il fallait comprendre qu'on ne doit pas manger tout à la fois, donner tout ce qu'on a dans ses poches au mendiant qu'on rencontre, courir, courir dans le vent jusqu'à ce qu'on tombe par terre et boire quand on a chaud et se baigner quand il est trop tôt ou trop tard, mais pas juste quand on en a envie ! Comprendre. Toujours comprendre. Moi, je ne veux pas comprendre.

4.5

آنوی به ما نشان می‌دهد اگر اسطوره را از روایتی بگیریم چه می‌شود. اگر شخصیت‌ها دیگر به خدایان شبیه نباشند و اعمال‌شان را در حیطه‌ی کنش‌های انسانی انجام دهند چه اتفاقی می‌افتد؟‌ حالا آنتیگون از جایگاهش پایین می‌آید و در حالی که باورهایش شکل‌گیری هیچ اسطوره‌ای را رقم نمی‌زند، مرگ را برمی‌گزیند.

I don't really know how to write about this play. It's Antigone through the lens of World War II. It's roughly the same story as Sophocles' original, but it's told so differently and with such a different heart. Anouilh was in pain, and he was trying to sort out the world that he once knew and the world he was now forced to live in. Like his Antigone, he could no longer see life the way he used to, but he couldn't accept it as it is now. It's the tragedy that he talks about and the drama. What he lived through was real, and he had to go through it, but in doing so, he accepted it for what it was. The aftermath is the drama--it doesn't feel real anymore, and he can't have hope because of what he's seen, so what's left?
I like that Antigone and Créon, youth and age, the follower of the law and the law maker, vie against each other, but each have equally beautiful and equally powerful lines. Anouilh doesn't seem to favor one view over the other. In Sophocles' play, Creon is clearly the villain. Antigone is the hero. But this play is very different, and I understand why. It's not about the afterlife, religion versus politics, honor versus obedience. It's about world views, about death, about the people who have to say "yes" because they drive the boat and the people who can say "no" because they don't have to worry about where the boat is going.
It's such a good play. It's well-paced, well-written, and brave. It's a portrait of a time told through the picture of an older and, in some ways, a simpler time. Anouilh found a way to relate what he was feeling with a play that he'd always known and loved. It's about the power of drama and literature to move us but also to allow room for expression. And sometimes, retelling stories is the best way to share our own.
I highly recommend this play. I don't know how it would be in English, but I'm sure the power and passion would translate just like it does from Sophocles' Antigone. Good writing is good writing in any language, and emotions are universal.

n  CHERCHONS : 2 x GARDES BRUTALS, 1 x PAGE INNOCENTn

Do you have a good francophone voice, and can you imagine yourself as one of the brutal, vulgar guards who arrest the noble princess or as the innocent young page who accompanies the king? If so, you might want to voice one of the three remaining roles available in the virtual production of Antigone that we've been putting together using the open source LARA platform. In the table below, roles in red are not yet taken and the numbers show how many speeches the character has. As you can see, it's only a few lines and shouldn't take you more than half an hour. You will be credited on the book page when the play is finished!



The current draft is posted here (view in Chrome or Firefox). The text is done, and we've added the translations - hover over a pencil icon to get a translation of the preceding sentence, hover over a word to get a translation of that word. Over 98% of the audio is now available.

If you're interested, leave a note here in the comment thread or PM me saying which part you're interested in, and I'll send you details on how to do the recording.
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[Update, Apr 30 2024]

We never managed to find anyone to voice the Second and Third Guards or the Page, but it seemed ridiculous to leave the project permanently stalled for this reason. It's posted in its current nearly-complete form. If anyone does feel moved to do the last few lines, we can add them!

OH SHE KNOWS HOW JOAN OF ARC FELT

Another of those works I glossed over in high school English class, to revisit with intent as a much older adult, Jean Anouilh’s Antigone is a provocative work for its era, occupied France in the Second World War. Even today, there are parallels between Antigone’s dedication to family honor and the spirit embedded in more recent popular movements. I’m confused, however, why, when presented with Creon’s version of the relationship among her brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, and her father, Oedipus, Antigone’s death wish remained. If true, was not her antagonism to Creon ultimately in error?

Oh how i love this myth !!

Fukit, honey. Go ahead : kill yourself. You bore me.

آنتیگون برای مرگ ساخته شده بود، نپذیرفتن و مردن...
مرگی که اورا جاد��انه کرد...

I'm not usually a fan of adaptions of classical texts, but this was fantastic. It keeps all the spirit of Sophocles' original, while being highly relevant to the period it was produced in (Nazi occupied France). Antigone clearly represents the French Resistance and the unthinking Guards Hitlers' Nazi followers. What's interesting is the representation of the harsh and unyielding ruler Creon (Hitler). The performance was allowed by the Nazi regime because the portrayal of the king was complex and ambiguous, emphasising the difficulties of ruling and the tough decisions he has to make, rather than portraying him as an outright tyrant. Though I don't know how much of an innovation this is on Anouilh's part; Sophocles' original Creon would have been at least somewhat sympathetic to the Athenian audience. Because his views of citizenship and the duties of the citizens (including putting the polis/state before philoi/loved-ones) were 'right' in the view of classical Athenians. But that's exactly where the tragedy arises in both versions of the play - the conflict between state and family.