Antigone

Sophocles, Owen McCafferty

Nick Hern Books, 2008 - Drama - 43 pages

"The war has ended, but with peace comes conflict. Antigone's brother Polyneices lies on the battlefield where he fell, his burial outlawed by Creon, the new king of Thebes. Should Antigone obey Creon, or must she follow her conscience and lay her beloved brother to rest?" "Fresh and timeless, Sophocles' masterpiece offers a profound reflection on the nature of power, democracy and human rights." "Owen McCafferty's muscular new version was premiered by Prime Cut Productions as part of the 2008 Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's." --Book Jacket.

Contents

• Section 1: 2
• Section 2: 3

About the author

Sophocles (c. 497/6 - winter 406/5 BC) is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than or contemporary with those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost 50 years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens that took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in 30 competitions, won 24, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won 13 competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles, while Euripides won four competitions. Owen McCafferty is a Belfast-based playwright. His plays include: Quietly (Abbey Theatre, Dublin and Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, 2013); an adaptation of JP Miller's Days of Wine and Roses (Donmar Warehouse, London, 2005); Scenes from the Big Picture (National Theatre, London, 2003); Shoot the Crow (Druid, Galway, 1997; Royal Exchange, Manchester, 2003); Mojo Mickybo (Kabosh, Belfast, 1998); No Place Like Home (Tinderbox, Belfast, 2001) and Closing Time (National Theatre, 2002).Scenes from the Big Picture won the John Whiting Award, the Meyer Whitworth Award and the Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright in 2003, making McCafferty the first writer to win all three awards in a single year.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Antigone; NHB Modern Plays Series; Nick Hern book
• Authors: Sophocles, Owen McCafferty
• Contributor: Owen McCafferty
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books, 2008
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Aug 17, 2010
• ISBN: 184842017X, 9781848420175
• Length: 43 pages
• Subjects: Drama / Ancient & Classical; Drama / European / General; Drama / General; History / General; Literary Collections / General