What does it mean to fight for something, anything?What does it mean to suffer for love?What does it mean to hold without being held?
Sydney Dramaturgical’s Antigone retains select words in the original Attic Greek, features a traditional Greek lyre soundtrack by Amber Allayiotis, and is fully Auslan-integrated. Adapted and partially translated from Ancient Greek by Aubrey Wang based on his own experience with English as a Second Language, this show balances accessibility with the primordial strangeness of the original text.WHAT'S THE STORY? After a brutal civil war, the new king declares that one of the dead—Antigone’s brother—must remain unburied. Antigone refuses. What follows is a clash between law and loyalty, family and the state.WHO IS THIS FOR? If you crave theatre that feels like a freefall, where the actors give everything and hold nothing back—this is for you. If you’re drawn to stories older than time, burning with urgency, that tear at the edges of myth and memory—this is for you.WHY AUSLAN? In Antigone, language is gatekept. Grief becomes illegal. Bodies refused dignity. Deaf people have lived through this—being denied language, being punished for signing, being shut out of public mourning. Auslan brings that history to the surface. WHAT IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANCIENT GREEK? Don’t worry—Greek is used sparingly, only where no English equivalent exists. The show speaks many languages at once: English, Auslan, Greek, and gesture. You’re never left behind. WHAT'S UP WITH THE GIANT, GLOWING GATE? It’s from a story by Kafka. A man comes to a gate, seeking the law. A guard tells him he can’t enter—not yet. The man waits his whole life. Just before he dies, he asks why no one else ever came. The guard says: “This gate was made only for you.” Then he closes it. What is law? Who is the man before the law? And if the law can't hold us—who will?
