Contra Antigona (Against Antigone) at Teatre Lliure, Barcelona Review
Written by Laura for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own
How does it feel to be part of a Greek Chorus? That’s perhaps a question not many people ask themselves, however I have the answer to it.
Contra Antígona is an experimental piece, based on Sophocles’ Antigone. Interestingly, this is the second Antigone play this season in Catalonia, the other one being Èdip & Antígona, which we’ve also covered in a previous review. I loved the little nod to it at the beginning when Corifeu (Coryphaeus) mentioned it. However, the two productions could not be more different.
Contra Antígona reclaims the importance of the chorus in ancient plays. Sometimes due to budget constraints, sometimes due to disinterest or even modern trends, this figure has become less and less common in modern theatre. In this piece, fourteen people from the audience are invited to participate in the play and live through its events in real time; otherwise, the play will be cancelled. Feeling a rush of nerves, I volunteered along with about 20 other people, and got picked to be part of the chorus, along with thirteen other people and our guide Corifeu. We were given headphones so that Mònica Molins, the facilitator, could speak to us and guide us throughout. We were encouraged to wander around, and even touching the actors was allowed.
The chorus had a bit more of a passive role at the beginning as we all settled into this new environment: Thebes, weakened and ruined after the succession war, a beautiful set created by Judit Colomer. We were encouraged not to act, but rather to be ourselves and naturally react to everything. I thought, well, that’s going to be a very boring play for the audience, then, because no one will do anything. And yet, slowly but surely, we all started to get pulled into the story; we didn’t know exactly what would happen, or whether we could somehow change the tragic ending, the only thing we could see was that someone was suffering, and surprisingly we all reacted as a unit in a quite beautiful way. Next to me, one of the volunteers was crying as a very reluctant guard played by Jan D. Casablancas tried to pry Antigone from our grasp with muttered apologies. Hands reached out to try to give comfort, to try to avoid someone getting hurt. We weren’t acting, we were in the middle of a tragedy, and we were trying to avoid it. We forgot about the audience, about everything else.
In the end, we bowed with the rest of the actors, who were super encouraging and kind, and then it was done.
Back to the real world.
For me, it was an insanely powerful moment that will stay with me forever, but I did wonder how it felt for the more than two hundred people in the audience, watching a bunch of random people with no acting experience putter around. I asked a few people who approached me how it felt for them, and surprisingly, they expressed awe, being incredibly moved by all of us and our genuine reactions.
Last but not least, I also wanted to touch on some of the actors. I found it very interesting that quite a few actors only appeared for one or two scenes, which truly makes it obvious how much importance the chorus was given, even over certain characters.
Júlia Truyol was a powerhouse as Antigone; dignified, so angry but also so vulnerable. Literally shaking under my hand as she faced her fate with her chin up. Clara de Ramon had a briefer appearance as Ismene, but she was super interactive and had some funny moments (let’s remember, a tragedy is not the opposite of a comedy!). Xavi Sáez as Creon also made an effort to interact with all of us and managed to get some sympathy from some of the chorus by the end. And finally, Olga Onrubia as Corifeu, our guide, who was incredibly funny at times, also had the purpose of explaining some of the intricacies of the show to the audience; she was mingling with all of us and always offered a supporting hand.
Overall, this is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, and for sure I will always have a special relationship with Antigone from now on. From what I was able to gather, it was an incredible experience for the audience as well, however if you are able, I would absolutely recommend trying to be part of the chorus (provided you speak Catalan, of course!). It is absolutely transferable to a UK audience, as there are already many immersive theatre experiences there, and I hope they get to experience something as wonderful as this.
Contra Antígona will be playing until June 21 st at Teatre Lliure.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★