I hear you. There are far too many good shows to pick from at the Edinburgh Fringe, and unless someone has kindly invented an extra eight hours in the day, you simply cannot see everything.
But here is a show you really shouldn’t miss.
The show’s premise:
A bold retelling of Sophocles’ tragedy set in Thebes, California. The Oracle summons audience-citizens and invokes the ancient rites of drama and democracy to address a crisis. Two brothers – gay activist Nikolas and conservative cop Elias – are dead after a protest on the Capitol steps. When the Governor proclaims one a hero and the other erased, defiant sister Tigg and best friend Henry risk everything for justice and love.
The score delivers both burden and joy as it navigates human need, political greed and grassroots resistance as survival.
There is no sitting out.
And that last line is rather important, because Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical isn’t interested in simply telling its story while you sit back and watch. From the involvement of The Oracle to the framing of the audience as citizens, there is a sense that we have been invited into this world and asked to consider the choices being made within it.
The staging is effective without being overly sparse. There is enough visually happening to give the production its own identity, but nothing unnecessarily distracts from the actors or the story being told. The lighting works particularly well in supporting changes in mood and atmosphere, while the pace of the production is spot on.
There was never a point where I felt the production was dragging or waiting for the next big musical number to arrive. It moves with confidence.
And then there is the cast.
The actors in this production, who both sing and act, perform with so much gusto that I genuinely had to check I hadn’t accidentally wandered onto Broadway.
The quality hits you remarkably quickly.
You can instantly tell as an audience member just how much rehearsal has gone into getting this production onto the stage. There is a precision to it, but thankfully not at the expense of its energy. The performances are rock solid, the singing is immense and the company works together incredibly well.
This is not a production where you are waiting for one particularly strong performer to arrive and lift everyone else up. The standard across the company is remarkably high.
Each of these performers has to be able to act, sing and command the stage. In musical theatre language, we’re talking about a company packed with triple threats.
It also takes a whole lot of balls to bring a cast over to the Edinburgh Fringe, particularly when you consider the financial cost and logistical headache involved in doing so. You’re bringing people, scenery, costumes and an entire production into one of the most competitive arts festivals in the world and hoping an audience turns up.
That is a considerable gamble.
Thankfully, in this case, it has paid off.
I was impressed by the entire cast, but one performance particularly stood out for me: Helena Padial as The Oracle.
Padial has a wonderful presence within the production. Even when she isn’t necessarily the immediate focus of a scene, there is never a fleeting moment where she feels disconnected from the action. The Oracle observes, responds and provides those wise words to the audience, becoming an important thread running through the production.
Director Elizabeth McKoy has said of the show:
“I needed to bring together powerful theatre makers like Ken Cerniglia and Chris Rayis to tell a story about democracy set in 1989, but the reality is that it’s really about the world we’re living in now.”
And that connection between then and now is one of the production’s strengths.
Antigone may be an ancient story, and this particular interpretation may be rooted in 1989, but the questions being asked don’t feel safely confined to either period.
The show deals with human need, political greed and human resistance. It considers who gets remembered, who gets erased, who gets to control the narrative and what happens when ordinary people decide that remaining silent is no longer an option.
There are some big themes here, but crucially the production doesn’t forget that theatre also needs to entertain.
The music gives the show enormous energy and the cast throws themselves into the material. There is joy alongside anger, humour alongside seriousness and humanity running through the politics.
That balance is important.
A production dealing with democracy, protest, sexuality, political division and resistance could very easily become heavy-handed. Antigone 1989 largely avoids that trap because underneath all of those themes are recognisable human relationships: siblings, friendships, loyalties, grief and love.
The show is cleverly put together, but ultimately it is the performances from this cast that elevate it.
There is confidence on that stage. There is commitment. And there is the wonderful feeling that everybody involved believes completely in the production they have brought to Edinburgh.
At a festival where hundreds of shows are competing for your attention every single day, sometimes you walk into a venue and realise you’ve found one of the good ones.
This is one of those occasions.
So this is a show where I’m not going to tell you to “consider booking”.
I’m telling you to book today.
Like, now.
Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical is ambitious, politically charged, beautifully performed and powered by an outstanding cast.
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/antigone-1989-a-town-hall-musical
An absolute must-see.
★★★★★ 5 Stars
About the Author
can’t wait to see It” Congratulations