Antigone Exits Review: Bold but Unfocused at Chichester — SkimNews
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- Nina Segal's new adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone, directed by Jeff James, runs at the Minerva theatre in Chichester until 17 October, with Max Bennett as King Creon and Nina Cassells in the title role.
- The production opens with a black, tar-like substance poured onto a bright yellow stage to form a dividing line representing Creon's court, with the oily spill eventually smearing cast members as the tragedy unfolds.
- Cast members break from their Greek characters to deliver personal anecdotes at a suspended mic — including stories of a decomposing fox, a husband's death, and a teenage daughter's suicide — blurring the line between ancient text and lived experience.
- Alex Lowde's set centres on a giant hollowed-out eggshell from which the cast emerge, later transforming into the cave through which Antigone vanishes, reinforcing the play's themes of what lingers after death.
- The review criticises the emphasis on describing emotions rather than showing them, comparing the effect to 'watching a workshop in method acting' and finding the links to Antigone's plight 'somewhat tenuous'.
- The critic acknowledges Segal's ambition in exploring the trickle-down consequences of Creon's inflexible laws, but concludes that not all ideas coalesce in James's production.
Why it matters: Theatres continue to bet on formally daring revivals of Greek tragedy to draw contemporary audiences, and this Chichester production demonstrates both the potential and the pitfall — experimental staging and autobiographical direct address can illuminate ancient themes of authoritarian rigidity, but the review suggests the result can feel more like an acting exercise than a fully realised drama.
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