Curatorial Statement
Antigone, directed by Hakan Alkan, was created by the independent Karma Sahne theatre in Samsun. The performance concentrates on the central conflict of Sophocles' tragedy: Antigone's decision to act according to her own conviction in opposition to the law imposed by Creon.
Alkan does not expand the conflict through additional explanations. The minimalist stage language directs attention towards the performers and the relationships between the characters. The costumes and props retain associations with the ancient world, but are restrained enough not to overshadow the acting. The space relies on minimalism, light and shadow, while the physical organisation of the ensemble becomes an important part of the stage structure.
Ferdi Ak, Eray Özdal, Derya Kılıç and Canan Demirci form an ensemble that constructs the different relationships within the community through direct acting and precise movement.
Condensing the text does not mean simplifying it. On the contrary, once the additional explanations are removed, the question posed by Sophocles remains: what happens when an individual and the authorities each regard their own decision as the only possible one, and when neither side is any longer willing to hear the other?
About the Performance
Sophocles’ renowned tragedy Antigone offers a contemporary interpretation of the timeless conflict between individual conscience and political authority. The production creates a 360-degree theatrical experience, placing the audience within a timeless universe where the remnants of the ancient world coexist with the ruins of an unknown future. At the heart of the performance is the confrontation between Antigone and Creon, a struggle shaped by power, justice, dignity, conscience and moral responsibility. Antigone’s resistance against an absolute authority becomes a universal question about the individual’s right to defend what they believe to be just, even at the cost of their own life. The production explores how power transforms into oppression and how resistance becomes an act of human dignity.
