CLASSICAL REVIVAL IN LOCKDOWN: A HYBRID RESPONSE TO SOPHOCLES’ ANTIGONE WITH ANTIGONENOW

Abstract

It is hard to deny that the pleasure of theatre substantially lies in witnessing a performance in situ. It is equally impossible to eschew the role of digital means in rendering a theatre work accessible to far-away audiences. In the present world hit by Covid-19, theatre practitioners have resorted to digitalism as one solution to ensure theatre’s survival. The University of California (UC) Davis Theatre and Dance Department’s all-female cast AntigoneNOW, a hybrid adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone, is one of those enterprises that successfully reflected on and responded to the world’s current state through digital means. Twelve culturally diverse female actors from different parts of the world filmed themselves with their phones, iPads, and computers; then all of the recordings brought together and edited by directors of the production. This online adaptation while exemplifying theatre in lockdown, offers insights into the nameless troubles across the globe and the common struggle of a variety of people in their faces.