HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA NIGHT GRADE 10

As everyone knows, on the 22nd of November the High School Drama Night took place. Here several grades took turns in order to act out their extraordinary plays. Grades 10 and 11 presented the work they’ve been practicing, with two amazing plays which included a very strong significance and a fascinating historical context.

 

The students from Grade 10 worked on the Greek tragedy entitled "Antigone". In this performance, in addition to the main characters, we meet the chorus, made up of many students of the class (who’s roled became very important throughout the play). The plot of the tragedy is as follows.

 

Oedipus was the father of two sons, Eteocles, and Polynices, and two daughters, Antigone (Sofia Carotenuto) and Ismene (Anna Spreafico). Eteocles and Polynices should institute a diarchy in which they would reign in alternate years. The first is Eteocles, who abuses his power by refusing to let Polynices be the king. Polynices brings foreign soldiers to fight his brother.

 

But Creon (Leonard Alsleben) orders that only Eteocles can be buried, indicating Polynices as a traitor to the country. He also decides that anyone who attempts to give him religious burial will be put to death.

Antigone, in a conversation with her sister Ismene, declares her disagreement with the unequal treatment of the bodies of the two brothers and decides to take responsibility for burying Polynices. Ismene refuses to participate at Eteocles brother’s funeral.

 

The guards (Tomaso Rivera Ruiz and Thomas Hill) report to Creon that the body of Polynices has been covered with sand. Creon is very angry and he is convinced that the crime was committed by some opponent, who must be traced and convicted.

 

In order for the guard to find the culprit, he unearths the body of Polynices and hides it so that he can wait for someone to cover it for the crime.  Antigone then proceeds to aid the man.

 

When brought to the presence of Creon, Antigone accuses the uncle of having placed himself with his decision above the gods, in fact, the funeral rite should be granted to all men at the behest of gods. Not even a king can oppose his performance.

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Antigone's accusations aggravate Creon's reaction, condemning death to his niece. Ismene then arrives, declaring that she wants to share the fate of Antigone, who reacts sternly because she had to perform the funeral obsequies without any support. The two sisters are then arrested.

The population shows solidarity with the young and Haemon (Marta Fiore), who is in love and promises spouse Antigone. She tries to intercede with his father. The conversation ends in a disaster, Creon is cruel and adamant and Haemon, is deprived of any possibility of action, and therefore, does not know how to help his beloved.

 

Creon then goes to Antigone to let her know that she has changed her decision: killing a member of her family is a counter-act that could arouse the anger of the deities, so she will be imprisoned in a cave where she will stay as long as she’ll live.

 

But Creon has already been guilty of a crime against the gods: the refusal to give funeral burial in Polynices. His guilt is remembered by the soothsayer Tiresias (Beatrice Angella and Temsghen Aklilu). Her words make Creon realize the crimes that he made against his family.

 

On stage, a messenger enters (Francesca Riva and Ginevra Torrisi) who says that Harmon had gone to free Antigone, but the young, not imagining that Creon could change his mind, had already hanged himself. Creon hears the cries of his son and arrived in the cave during the attack of Haemon who is mad of pain, lashes out against his father. Haemon decides to kill himself and, in front of Creon, he stabs himself with the sword.

 

So the show ends with the reaction of the chorus (Francesca Riva, Ginevra Torrisi, Mariana Defeu, Jacqueline Schreiber, Marta Fiore, Matilde Conti, Maria Zorzi, Lawrence Clark)  in front of Creon, who is aware of his responsibilities in the tragic end of his family, begs the gods to give him death.