Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

's play ''Antigone'' () is a

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

inspired by the play of the same name by

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

Performance history

Original production

''Antigone'' was first performed in Paris at the

Théâtre de l'Atelier The Théâtre de l'Atelier () is a theatre at 1, place Charles Dullin in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The theatre opened on 23 November 1822 under the name Théâtre Montmartre.Edward Foreman, ''Historical dictionary of Fren ...

on February 6, 1944, during the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

occupation. Produced under Nazi

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

, the play is purposefully ambiguous with regard to the rejection of authority (represented by

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

) and the acceptance of it (represented by Creon). The parallels to the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

and the Nazi occupation are clear, however. The original cast included Monelle Valentin (Antigone),

Jean Davy Jean Davy (15 October 1911 – 5 February 2001) was a French film, stage voice actor. Career He was a Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. In the premiere production of ''Antigone (Anouilh play), Antig ...

(Créon),

Suzanne Flon Suzanne Flon (28 January 1918 – 15 June 2005) was a French people, French stage, film, and television actress. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the 1961 film ''Tu ne tueras point, Thou Shalt Not Kill''. Flon also re ...

(Ismène), and André Le Gall (Hémon); the staging, decor and costumes were by

André Barsacq André Barsacq (24 January 1909 – 8 July 1973) was a French theatre director, producer, scenic designer, and playwright. From 1940 to 1973 he was the director of the Théâtre de l'Atelier. He was the brother of Russian production designer Lé ...

British première

''Antigone'' received its British première by the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

Theatre Company at the New Theatre, London, on 10 February 1949. The production was produced by

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

(who also played the role of Chorus) and had the following cast: *''Chorus'' -

*''Antigone'' -

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

*''Nurse'' - Eileen Beldon *''Ismene'' - Meg Maxwell *''Haemon'' - Dan Cunningham *''Creon'' - George Relph *''First Guard (Jonas)'' -

Thomas Heathcote Thomas Heathcote (9 September 1917 – 5 January 1986) was a British character actor, a former protégé of Laurence Olivier. He was educated at Bradfield College in Bradfield, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included '' A Night ...

*''Second Guard (a Corporal)'' - Hugh Stewart *''Third Guard'' - George Cooper *''Messenger'' - Terence Morgan *''Page'' - Michael Redington *''Eurydice'' - Helen Beck

Productions and adaptations

Actress

Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893 – June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by cri ...

produced and starred in a 1946 production at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. Sir

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned over 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and hi ...

played the role of King Creon. Also performing were Bertha Belmore,

Wesley Addy Robert Wesley Addy (August 4, 1913 – December 31, 1996)R Wesley Addy in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claim Index, 1936-2007, retrieved froAncestry.com/ref> was an American actor of stage, television, and film. Early years A ...

, Ruth Matteson, George Mathews, and Oliver Cliff, and

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

(as the Messenger), Michael Higgins (The Third Guard). The production was staged by Cornell's husband

Guthrie McClintic Guthrie McClintic (August 6, 1893 – October 29, 1961) was an American theatre director, film director, and producer based in New York. Life and career McClintic was born in Seattle, attended Washington University in St. Louis and New York's A ...

. The translation was by Lewis Galantière. It has since been published many times. In 1959, it was staged at the East 74th Street Theater in Manhattan, New York City. There was an English-languag
television production
for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in 1959 starring

Dorothy Tutin Dame Dorothy Tutin (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two ''Evening Standard'' Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and a ...

. It was filmed for Australian television in 1966. In 1974, an American television production of the play, presented on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

' ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

'', starred

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cr ...

and

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his ...

. There are also English translations by

Barbara Bray Barbara Bray (née Jacobs; 24 November 1924 – 25 February 2010) was an English translator and critic. Early life Bray was born in Maida Vale, London; her father had Belgian and Jewish origins. An identical twin (her sister Olive Classe was al ...

in 1987 and by

Jeremy Sams Jeremy Sams (born 12 January 1957) is a British theatre director, composer, and lyricist. Early life and education Sams is the son of the Shakespearean scholar and musicologist Eric Sams. He read music, French, and German at Magdalene Colleg ...

in 2002. The Bray translation was adapted for

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

in 2024, with Rosy McEwen as Antigone and

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...

as Creon.

References

External links

{{Authority control 1944 plays Contemporary philosophical literature Plays by Jean Anouilh Plays based on Antigone (Sophocles play) Plays set in ancient Greece Anti-fascist plays