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Against the Unwritten Laws. The Figure of Antigone and the Political Occupation of the Public Space
Boekbijdrage - Hoofdstuk
In spite of the Hegelian tradition to see Antigone as a fundamental conflict between divine law and state law, a majority of contemporary performances is inspired by the intuition to consider Antigone as an icon of political rebellion and subversion. Politically inspired adaptations, such as Ulrike, een antieke tragedie (Leo Geerts, 1979), The Riot Act (Tom Paulin, 1984) or, more recently Antigone ou le courage de la liberté (Philippe Corval, 2011) show an Antigone-character whose behavior and discourse is clearly superior to the raison d’état of king Creon. And the same spirit is present in performances of Sophocles’ original text: a woman radically confirming the ethical superiority of absolute loyalty to one’s kin, even after death.
Seen from the (historical) point of view of ancient tragedy as a political performance, it is at least remarkable to observe how Antigone, since the ‘boom’ of performed ancient tragedy after 1969, has been transformed into an embodiment of opposition against the monstrosity an anonymous state power. Maybe also against corporate power: isn’t Erin Brockovich the perfect contemporary Antigone, with a happy ending as a plus-value? The historical point of view teaches a more ambiguous lesson, about the infamous ‘unwritten laws’ to begin with. The emancipation of the political community in ancient Athens included serious uncertainty about the legitimacy itself of this new political balance of power, about the separation between holy and civic matters this community was supposed to decide about politically. As Cornelius Castoriadis notes, it was a dangerous exercise in societal and political imagination. Sophocles’ Antigone, it could be said, was, in this historical political discourse, an attempt to politicize this risk, by introducing this ambiguous notion of ‘unwritten laws’. If the political function, right in the heart of the polis, of ancient tragedy is to be taken seriously, the claimed superiority of Antigone’s ethical position, as e.g. Martha Nussbaum suggests, should not be taken for granted. Not if we talk about Antigone as a sort of palimpsest on which to inscribe the ethical foundations of political authority – and Creon has a point indeed, as a constitutionalist – and a fortiori not if we embody this canonical conflict in a performance or repertory theatre.
The historicist concept of Hegel, or the ethical superiority of ‘Antigone/Ulrike’ are both tending towards de-politicization of basic choices in a political community. Without suggesting any vague ‘timelessness’ in Sophocles’ dramatization of the legal debate between Antigone and Creon, it is obvious that the autonomy of political action – democratic or not – is at stake, then and now. The challenge could be to ‘re-politicize’ both Antigone and Creon – and their kin: Haemon, Ismene, Eurydice – which would mean you redefine this drama – and the metaphorical political theatre in general – as a debate without an outcome. In spite of Antigone’s death and the destruction of Creon’s family, the question of the fundamental legitimacy of decisions in a self-governing political community remains as open – maybe more open – than before.
And the next question would be: is contemporary theatre – repertory or performance art – able to play a role in this effort to re-politicize the community in which we live?
Seen from the (historical) point of view of ancient tragedy as a political performance, it is at least remarkable to observe how Antigone, since the ‘boom’ of performed ancient tragedy after 1969, has been transformed into an embodiment of opposition against the monstrosity an anonymous state power. Maybe also against corporate power: isn’t Erin Brockovich the perfect contemporary Antigone, with a happy ending as a plus-value? The historical point of view teaches a more ambiguous lesson, about the infamous ‘unwritten laws’ to begin with. The emancipation of the political community in ancient Athens included serious uncertainty about the legitimacy itself of this new political balance of power, about the separation between holy and civic matters this community was supposed to decide about politically. As Cornelius Castoriadis notes, it was a dangerous exercise in societal and political imagination. Sophocles’ Antigone, it could be said, was, in this historical political discourse, an attempt to politicize this risk, by introducing this ambiguous notion of ‘unwritten laws’. If the political function, right in the heart of the polis, of ancient tragedy is to be taken seriously, the claimed superiority of Antigone’s ethical position, as e.g. Martha Nussbaum suggests, should not be taken for granted. Not if we talk about Antigone as a sort of palimpsest on which to inscribe the ethical foundations of political authority – and Creon has a point indeed, as a constitutionalist – and a fortiori not if we embody this canonical conflict in a performance or repertory theatre.
The historicist concept of Hegel, or the ethical superiority of ‘Antigone/Ulrike’ are both tending towards de-politicization of basic choices in a political community. Without suggesting any vague ‘timelessness’ in Sophocles’ dramatization of the legal debate between Antigone and Creon, it is obvious that the autonomy of political action – democratic or not – is at stake, then and now. The challenge could be to ‘re-politicize’ both Antigone and Creon – and their kin: Haemon, Ismene, Eurydice – which would mean you redefine this drama – and the metaphorical political theatre in general – as a debate without an outcome. In spite of Antigone’s death and the destruction of Creon’s family, the question of the fundamental legitimacy of decisions in a self-governing political community remains as open – maybe more open – than before.
And the next question would be: is contemporary theatre – repertory or performance art – able to play a role in this effort to re-politicize the community in which we live?
Boek: Occupy Antigone.Tradition, Transition and Transformation in Performance
Series: Forum Modernes Theater
Pagina's: 51-61
Aantal pagina's: 11
ISBN:9783823369554
Jaar van publicatie:2016
Trefwoorden:Tragedy, Antigone, Hannah Arendt, Bonnie Honig
Toegankelijkheid:Open