Premiere ANTIGONE

Director — Kamilė GUDMONAITĖ

Set Designer — Barbora ŠULNIŪTĖ

Costume Designer — Liucija KVAŠYTĖ

Composer — Dominykas DIGIMAS

Choreographer — Mantas STABAČINSKAS

Lighting Designer — Julius KURŠYS

Assistant Director — Rokas LAŽAUNYKAS

Assistant Director — Kotryna SIAURUSAITYTĖ

Dramaturgy Curator — Sigita IVAŠKAITĖ

Producer — Žiedūnė DUBNIKOVAITĖ

Cast

Antigone — Aistė ZABOTKAITĖ

Creon — Dainius GAVENONIS

Ismene — Vaidilė JUOZAITYTĖ

Haemon — Kęstutis CICĖNAS

Guard — Marius Michailas REPŠYS

Chorus Leader — Salvijus TREPULIS

Chorus Leader — Arvydas DAPŠYS

It seems that not long ago we lived in a time when it felt like we had learned the lessons history had to offer. Yet today, the worst-case scenarios described in textbooks are returning to reality. Where can we turn to find answers? Where should we look when history, not so distant, tries to become our future? Born in the cradle of democracy – ancient Greece – Sophocles' tragedy "Antigone" reveals an eternal clash of values, a conflict between two political truths, upon which director Kamilė Gudmonaitė turns her gaze.

"Although Europe remains a bloc of liberal democracies today, we notice an attraction to ideological alternatives. The liberal order is losing its emotional weight; we see disappointment in it and even in democracy itself. Globalization is perceived as a threat, economic inequality is growing, and therefore more and more people are turning to populist right-wing parties that offer 'clear enemies' and 'simple solutions,' well-known epics and their heroes, which do not require long and 'ineffective' discussions. Against this backdrop is a geopolitical crisis and ongoing wars. I believe the front line here is not primarily a physical border, but the intersection of the world's ideological directions of thought, just as Sophocles' 'Antigone' becomes the front line of European ideologies in our play," the director reflects.

In the play, Antigone and Creon collide – characters representing two different directions. Antigone is the liberal side, fighting and protesting for rights, freedom, and dignity; Creon is the ruler of populism and the right-wing direction. The tragedy appears more relevant than ever, opening up an intellectual cross-section of Europe, showing how the search for truth is opposed to its construction. But in our polyphonic world, can we essentially still speak of only two truths?