Antigone (on strike)
12 February 2025
Park Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Antigone [on strike], currently playing at the Park Theatre until 22 February, is an immersive experience driven by the audience that asks difficult questions and explores our own views and ideas on social and political topics. The play meshes Sophocles’ Antigone with the story of Shamima Begum in an interesting way. Shamima becomes Esme (Ismene), Antigone becomes Antiya, Esme’s sister. Creon is represented by the Home Secretary, whose son Aemon (Haemon) is in love with Antiya. Details of both stories are changed and amended, raising the impact while retaining some familiarity.
Esme was 14 when she travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State, now she wants to return to her home in East London but the government has stripped her of her citizenship and branded her a terrorist. Antigone has tried to help her sister, but when all seems hopeless after the last appeal is denied, she stages a hunger strike to bring attention and urgency to the case. Aemon is torn between his family and supporting Antiya, while his father fervently strives to utilize the case to aid his political career.
Throughout the performance the audience answers a series of questions with a clicker pad provided for everyone in attendance. The answers change the plot and drive the story in a different direction, including some improvised questions to further explore audience dynamic and opinions.
Told through a combination of dynamic scenes, frantic news reports, and political discussion panels, it’s a fascinating look at socio-economic dynamics, prejudices, racism, sexism, islamophobia, and more. It’s a challenging story that puts the viewers in the driver’s seat, unravelling the plot while taking the audience’s decisions into account to drive the narrative.
It would be fascinating to see the tallies from different nights of the show, and how they impact and change the story presented. The night I attended turned out to be a strong majority of more differentiated and open minded thinkers, leading to overwhelming numbers on Esme and Antiya’s side. A fascinating exploration of dynamics that begs to be seen by a wide variety of audiences, who will likely have very varied experiences with this intense show.
