Tribunas de tiranos: llamada a la soberanía civil en Antígona de David Gaitán y Herodes hoy de Richard Viqueira

Abstract

There are many adaptations of classical texts in Mexico’s contemporary theater. David Gaitán’s Antígona (2015) and Richard Viqueira’s Herodes hoy (2017) revise classical stories of authoritarianism and injustice while placing them in a similar format to that of public trials or the agón in ancient Greek drama. These plays mirror Mexicans’ frustration with countless cases of human rights violations and impunity in the country. Theater critic Jorge Dubatti’s theory of a “politics of difference” helps us analyze Gaitán’s and Viqueira’s dramatic pieces to show how these “territorialize” their source text. Although the tragic outcomes of the well-known stories persist, the playwrights include rebel acts that invite their audience to imagine the restoration of civil sovereignty. On the other hand, Creon’s and Herod’s megalomaniacal personalities overshadow the defendants’ verdicts, reminding spectators of Slavoj Žižek’s warning about a relapse in public morals provoked by the Trump era. The plays’ court proceedings expose the politicians’ real intentions, evoking actions in today’s world by current (inter)national leaders. Paradoxically, Antígona and Herodes hoy show how tyrants, with the alleged support of reason and oratory, manage to earn spectators’ sympathy.