Žižek's Antigone opening tonight in Novo mesto
Novo Mesto, 11 April - The first play by Slovenian star philosopher Slavoj Žižek, a triple-ended version of Antigone, is opening in Novo mesto tonight in a production of the avant-garde Anton Podbevšek Theatre (APT).
Ljubljana
Philosopher Slavoj Žižek.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
File photo.
Novo mesto
Matjaž Berger, director of the Anton Podbevšek Theatre.
Photo: Rasto Božič/STA
The Triple Life on Antigone, originally commissioned by the Croatian National Theatre, is launching a series of productions celebrating the centenary of the Russian Revolution.
The first production of Žižek's play was directed by APT boss Matjaž Berger, who focused on the philosopher's interpretation of Antigone's act.
Žižek takes away the "aura" of Sophocles' Antigone and puts her into "perfectly normal existential positions", as presented through the prism of both protagonists, Creon and Antigone, and the chorus.
In his cut Žižek offers three different endings, a slow-motion shot pinpointing what places Antigone in the sphere between two deaths and what gives her the legitimacy to bury her brother, says Berger.
Antigone will be played by Petra Govc and Creon by Pavle Ravnohrib, while Klara Kastelec is cast as Ismene, Jana Menger as Guard and Messenger, Joseph Nzobandora as Haemon and Janez Hočevar as Teiresias.
The choreography is by Jana Menger, dramaturgy by Stojan Pelko and Andreja Kopač, set design by Miran Mohar, costumes by Peter Movrin and Metod Črešnar and music by Peter Penko.
Named after Slovenia's first avant garde author Anton Podbevšek (1898-1981), APT was established in 2006 and is considered one of the most innovative and experimental theatres in Slovenia.
Under Berger's guide, the ensemble has been inspired by Žižek's philosophy before, taking his critique of ideology as a basis for a 2013 production entitled Welcome to the Spiritual Kingdom of Animals.
The latest production is being put on in cooperation with Cankarjev dom, Slovenia's leading cultural institution.