Inua Ellams’ update of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone has been about five years in the making; it has finally debuted at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park.
Set in modern Britain, we are introduced to the titular Antigone (Zainab Hasan), a British Pakistani woman who has been working in a youth centre which has been forced to close due to cuts.
Her uncle Creon (Tony Jayawardena) is the Home Secretary, although we are introduced to him while he is out campaigning, clearly set on becoming the next Prime Minister.
Much of this production seems incredibly timely – early on in the show we see the election of a new leader, with candidates pandering to specific subsets of voter groups using bespoke rhetoric.