Description
In 2015 Will Aitken journeyed to Luxembourg for the rehearsals and premiere of Anne Carson’s translation of Sophokles’ 5th-century BCE tragedy Antigone, starring Juliette Binoche and directed by theatrical sensation Ivo van Hove.
In watching the play, he become awestruck with the plight of the young woman on the centre of the action. “Take a look at what these men are doing to me,” Antigone cries, expressing the quandary of the dispossessed right through time. Transfixed by the unusual and uncanny power of the play, he finds himself haunted by its protagonist, in the end leading to a suicidal breakdown.
With a behind the curtain view of the action, Aitken illuminates the creative process of Carson, Binoche, and Van Hove and gives a rare glimpse into collaborative genius in action. He also investigates the response to the play by Hegel, Virginia Woolf, Judith Butler, and others, who too, were moved by its timeless protest against injustice.