CLASSICAL REVIVAL IN LOCKDOWN: A HYBRID RESPONSE TO SOPHOCLES’ ANTIGONE WITH ANTIGONENOW

It is hard to deny that the pleasure of

theatre substantially lies in witnessing a

performance in situ. It is equally impossible to

eschew the role of digital means in rendering

a theatre work accessible to far-away

audiences. In the present world hit by Covid19, theatre practitioners have resorted to

digitalism as one solution to ensure theatre’s

survival. The University of California (UC)

Davis Theatre and Dance Department’s allfemale cast AntigoneNOW, a hybrid

adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone, is one of

those enterprises that successfully reflected

on and responded to the world’s current state

through digital means. Twelve culturally

diverse female actors from different parts of

the world filmed themselves with their

phones, iPads, and computers; then all of the

recordings brought together and edited by

directors of the production. This online

adaptation while exemplifying theatre in

lockdown, offers insights into the nameless

troubles across the globe and the common

struggle of a variety of people in their faces