In Ireland there's a big debate on abortion at the moment. I've been thinking of writing a play on it as an adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone. My PhD is on Sophocles so I know his work inside-out and what's always struck me is that he manages to present an ethical argument with valid arguments on both sides and allows his audience to essentially see what it's like on the other side of the fence. The Antigone is essentially a conflict between the rights of the individual against the prerogatives of the state.
Jean Anouilh's adaptation is probably the best example, where in Nazi occupied France he had Creon (the state) as an SS-like figure and Antigone as a French resistance fighter. At the end of the play both the Nazi and French members of the audience applauded believing that their character was right.
I'm thinking of submitting it to the Abbey Theatre, which has a special category for new Irish playwrights, as it has a long association with Greek Tragedy. On its centenary celebration they did a version of Sophocles' Antigone.
But for my Antigone, I'm thinking of setting up a fictional state that has outlawed abortion. The leader of the state (Creon in Sophocles) finds out his daughter is pregnant and doesn't know who the father is. The Chorus (who act in Sophocles to provide impartial views of the action in the play and link the audience more closely to what is going on) would act for me as the media commenting on the angles with which to view what the leader of the state is doing and to voice the alternative views on abortion. The events of the play would follow the general action of Sophocles' Antigone with Antigone hanging herself in her despair as her father sends her to an empty house (i.e. in my play, council housing for single mothers).
The idea of it would be to show the two views on abortion but without, like Sophocles, having a moral or political motive. But to create debate by depicting both sides in a sympathetic light.
Does it sound like a good idea? It would be my first play so I think following the successful technique of Sophocles and tweaking and changing things for my adaptation might increase my chance of success as a debut writer. Plus the themes of the play are topical which might also increase its acceptance.
Jean Anouilh's adaptation is probably the best example, where in Nazi occupied France he had Creon (the state) as an SS-like figure and Antigone as a French resistance fighter. At the end of the play both the Nazi and French members of the audience applauded believing that their character was right.
I'm thinking of submitting it to the Abbey Theatre, which has a special category for new Irish playwrights, as it has a long association with Greek Tragedy. On its centenary celebration they did a version of Sophocles' Antigone.
But for my Antigone, I'm thinking of setting up a fictional state that has outlawed abortion. The leader of the state (Creon in Sophocles) finds out his daughter is pregnant and doesn't know who the father is. The Chorus (who act in Sophocles to provide impartial views of the action in the play and link the audience more closely to what is going on) would act for me as the media commenting on the angles with which to view what the leader of the state is doing and to voice the alternative views on abortion. The events of the play would follow the general action of Sophocles' Antigone with Antigone hanging herself in her despair as her father sends her to an empty house (i.e. in my play, council housing for single mothers).
The idea of it would be to show the two views on abortion but without, like Sophocles, having a moral or political motive. But to create debate by depicting both sides in a sympathetic light.
Does it sound like a good idea? It would be my first play so I think following the successful technique of Sophocles and tweaking and changing things for my adaptation might increase my chance of success as a debut writer. Plus the themes of the play are topical which might also increase its acceptance.
