ANTI-GONE 俺抬杠?! to Premiere at A.R.T./New York in March

Anti-Gone俺抬杠?!, a Bold Reimagination of the Greek Tragedy Antigone, will premiere at Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre, A.R.T./New York.

In a Northern Chinese village in the 1980s, on the final day of a three-day burial ceremony, the mourning hall becomes a battleground.

Polynikes, the eldest son of the Oedipus family, lies in his casket, but his spirit lingers in the human world. His late brother Eteocles waits to drag him into the afterlife. Meanwhile, their surviving sisters are at odds. Antigone refuses to honor the brother she despises, and Ismene tries to keep her from causing more trouble. At the same time. Polynikes' young children attempt to force their way into the adult world with their own childishly almighty will.

What should have been a solemn funeral spirals into chaos. Welcome to the ultimate family feud-where the dead won't stay silent, and the living refuse to let go. As incense burns and tempers ignite, class struggles rage beyond the grave, coffins talk back, and ghosts settle old scores. In this explosive reimagining of Antigone, grief, rage, and history collide-so who will get the last word?

Anti-Gone俺抬杠?! will be performed at the Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre, A.R.T./New York (502 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10019). This groundbreaking bilingual theater experience is the first NYC production to feature alternating monolingual performances in both Mandarin and English.

Anti-Gone 俺抬杠?! is a radical reimagining of Antigone, set in a village in post-Cultural Revolution China. Rather than resisting an authoritarian ruler, this Antigone defies family and tradition, refusing to attend her brother's funeral. The story unfolds during the final day of a three-day burial ceremony in a rural Northern Chinese village in the 1980s, where Polynikes lies in his casket, and his spirit lingers while his late brother Eteocles attempts to drag him into the afterlife. Their surviving sisters, Antigone and Ismene, are at odds as family feuds, political ghosts, and talking coffins bring chaos to what should be a solemn occasion.

This performance runs for 75 minutes without intermission. Content warnings include mentions of sexual violence, child abuse, strong language, and bad poetry.

The venue is on the second floor of the building and accessible by elevator. For further accommodations, please email antigoneantaigong@gmail.com at least 3 days before the event.

The Box Office opens 45 minutes prior to start time. Seating is limited and provided on a first come, first served basis. All unclaimed reservations are released 30 minutes before start time.

Performances are scheduled as follows: Friday, March 21 at 7:30 PM (Mandarin Performance), Saturday, March 22 at 2:30 PM (English Performance) and 7:30 PM (English Performance), and Sunday, March 23 at 2:30 PM (Mandarin Performance). The show will be performed in either English or Mandarin each night, with surtitles provided.

Cast members include Tina Qiu as Antigone, Lana Zhang as Ismene/Spinx, Zhi Qu as Haimon/Eunuch, Luna Peng as Kid, Jaden Zhao as Eteocles/Chorus, Yuchen Zhou as Polynikes/Oedipus, and Han Gao as COW.

The play is written by Yiwei Lu, a writer from Shanghai, graduated from NYU Gallatin with a concentration on Epic Literature and Intellectual History. He has attended the Edinburgh Fringe Theater Festival as Karturian in a production of the Pillowman, and he most recently played Shi Rendao in a production of The President's Invitation by NoMad Theater, and Fang Dasheng in a production of Sunrise. He would like to thank Liu Zhenyun, Hajime Isayama, Walter Benjamin, as well as all the modern Chinese dialecticians for the inspirations.

To Yiwei, Anti-Gone 俺抬杠?! started as a question-what if Antigone wasn't resisting a tyrant, but instead defying her own family and the traditions they uphold? Setting the story in post-Cultural Revolution China allowed him to explore how oppression isn't always enforced by a single ruler but by collective will, history, and ideology. The bilingual structure of the play was crucial-because in Mandarin, it unfolds as a dark comedy, while in English, it feels like a tragedy. Language shapes how we process conflict, memory, and power. At its core, this play is a clash of voices-political, personal, and generational-where the dead won't stay silent, and the living refuse to let go.

The show is directed by Dejing Eloise Wang, a Brooklyn-based theatre director, playwright, and intimacy professional born and raised in Qingdao, China. They're interested in the transdisciplinary intersection of theatre and science. Favorite directing credits: Tropopause (GAF 2024), Hollow Cross (Walkerspace Theatre), As You Like It (Labowitz Theatre), i want us both to eat well (BPPF). A recent graduate of NYU Gallatin. For their not-so-serious theatrical portfolio, visit dejingeloisewang.com. For their even more unserious and banal life portfolio, visit @de.jing_ on instagram.

What drew Eloise to Anti-Gone 俺抬杠?! was the sheer theatricality of the setting-a grand burial ceremony, deeply rooted in rural Chinese tradition, but teetering on the edge of chaos. Funerals are meant to be solemn, dignified affairs, but here, grief is loud, messy, and confrontational. They are fascinated by the clash between ritual and rebellion, between tradition and the individuals trapped within it. The mourning hall itself becomes a stage for power struggles, unresolved history, and absurd humor. As a director, Eloise wants to capture that contradiction-the weight of a centuries-old burial tradition colliding with the raw, volatile emotions of those left behind.

The creative team includes script consultant and dramaturg Octavia Washington, scenic designer Junran Charlotte Shi, lighting designer Zijun Neil Wang, sound designer Henry Shen, costume, hair&makeup designer Yinxue Wang, and graphic designer Linxi Jiang & Eunha Chung.

The Producer and Dramaturg Zihe Tian is passionate about classical Chinese culture, literature and art, dedicated to making East Asian aesthetics and narratives accessible to more audiences. Here recent credits include Remorse, The Munchies, Bad Horses, Hollow Cross, Deep Sea Trail, etc. Upcoming: Of Ashes And Souls (April 2025, The Flea Theater - The Sam). (BA: NYU, MFA: Columbia University.)

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