Abbey Theatre Presents X'NTIGONE

Playwright Darren Murphy breathes new life into Sophocles' Greek tragedy Antigone. He distils this ancient story into an intense 70-minute two-hander, ripped from today's post-Covid headlines and pulsating with the spirit of Sophocles' original tragedy.

Directed by Emma Jordan, X'ntigone (after Sophocles' Antigone) comes to the Peacock stage from 16th March 2022. The title role is played by Eloïse Stevenson as X'ntigone, and Michael James Ford takes on the role of Creon.

Darren Murphy, playwright, says: 'It's a thriller, of sorts. But it's also the story of a family. Of an uncle trying to control his niece; a powerful leader versus a girl without agency; a king who needs to maintain order in the pestilent city versus a young woman who needs to bury her brother-an act which threatens the public health of that city. It's about how weaponizing a plague pits personal tragedy against the stringent civic demands of a corrupt and weak leadership. It is, as it always has been, a play for now.'

In this thrilling meditation on Sophocles' timeless Greek tragedy, political expediency meets the voice of a generation who want to tear down the power structures that have ill-served a crumbling state. X'ntigone is a fresh and vital discourse for our times, when even truth has been sacrificed at the altar of political gain and avarice. This eloquent play had its world premiere at the MAC, Belfast in February 2022, and the Abbey Theatre is excited to stage this urgent take on a timeless classic on the national stage.

A global plague has ravaged Thebes, millions are dead and the economy has tanked. Vaccinations have been administered and the Festival of Liberty is imminent. Things are finally about to change. The countdown is on but leader Creon and his quarantined niece, the self-identifying X'ntigone, have unfinished business before the celebrations can commence. What happens when old-world order meets a radical new world vision?

X'ntigone opens on 16th March and runs until 26th March on the Abbey Theatre's Peacock stage.

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