Ivo van Hove

The Greek tragedy ‘Antigone’, here in a new English translation by Anne Carson, shows us how unreasonable reason can be. Polynices is killed in a bloody power struggle with his brother Eteocles and is not allowed to be buried. Regarded as a traitor, his dead body is displayed to the public. His sister Antigone does not accept Polynices’ humiliation and the fact that he is treated as a scapegoat. The daughter of an incestuous marriage between her mother Jocasta and her half-brother Oedipus, Antigone is the ultimate embodiment of all that is forbidden, of all that is anti. Intrepidly and stubbornly she defends the interests of the individual and of unwritten laws. She is a passionate warrior who fights for the right of the heart. There is no place for this extreme devotion and love in Theban society.

Ivo van Hove’s ‘Antigone’ is a play with the explosiveness of a nuclear bomb. Going beyond good and evil, it explores a new field of humanity and of people in crisis. The role of Antigone is played by none other than the French film and theatre icon, Juliette Binoche.