Fusion Theatre presents Jean Anouilh’s Antigone.

Jean Anouilh’s Antigone is less widely known than Sophocles’ Antigone. But Anouilh’s “adaptation” of the classic Greek tragedy is an important work in itself. Written by a Frenchman during Nazi occupation of France, Anouilh’s Antigone is in some ways more dynamic and accessible than Sophocles’, and it has become a landmark of protest theatre. It’s Anouilh’s Antigone that Fusion Theatre has chosen to perform this May in the Studio Theatre at Theatre Row. Under the direction of Eilin O’Dea (who also plays the title role), Fusion Theatre brings Antigone to life like never before through their unique blend of dialogue and classic opera. The acting is impressive on all fronts, especially in sixteen-year-old Igby Rigney, who plays Creon’s Page with surprising competence for someone so young. But the show as a whole belongs to Eilin O’Dea’s Antigone and Paul Goodwin Groen’s Creon: two larger than life characters whose force and passion carry the play along from start to finish. O’Dea’s Irish accent is the perfect addition to her characterization of Antigone: the stubborn heroine who defies the king and submits to a death sentence merely to give her brother’s corpse a proper religious buri …Read more