Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Brian Parry (who played Lear and Willy Loman in Redtwist's earlier productions of King Lear and Death of a Salesman) is excellent as Kreon, the stubborn ruler who, trying to impose order on a fractured society, is unwilling to hear dissent from a woman-or from the young man who loves her, his own son Haemon, played by the earnest Nick Shank."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Brian Parry is absolutely brilliant as King Kreon, ruler of Thebes, in Sophikles' Ancient Greek classic "Antigone", produced by Redtwist Theatre. In this 75-minute version of the story, based on a new translation by Anne Carson, Parry has met his match in Isabel Alamin, who impressively plays Antigone. Their powerful interaction transfixes the audience, as both make imposing claims to defend widely different points of view about the relationship between government, justice, and morality. While true to the original narrative, this adaptation of "Antigone" is not your grandparents' version. Rather, the wording is "colloquial, light-fingered, and cutting." And under the direction of Christine Freije, the show proceeds at a driving pace."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...Today, Redtwist Theatre presents a new translation by Anne Carlson, whose "light-fingered, colloquial and cutting" language provides a fresh view of Greek tragedy in the twenty-first century. Her translation makes the entire production not only accessible but topical."
Picture This Post
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Parry and Alamin are accompanied by a fine ensemble, in this writer's view. There is not a line delivered that doesn't seem to be carefully considered by this most able cast. If you, like this writer, are interested in the classics in general or this Sophocles cultural pillar in specific, this production re-enacts the story with ample acting prowess. That said, this is a production that doesn't seem to take on the challenge of bringing in a wider audience. If you love to see classic plays on stage this should be your top pick. Pampered audience members who rely on gestural and physical theater injections to bring such stories alive on stage should likely take a pass."
Splash Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...This staging is refreshing and entertaining for classical neophytes as well as those familiar with the play, and the brisk presentation focuses on a meaningful story and avoids the pretentious pitfalls into which classics can often fall."
NewCity Chicago
- Recommended
"...Writing in the 1850s, British novelist George Eliot cuts right to the essential reason why Sophocles' "Antigone" is still performed-and still relevant-almost 2,500 years after it was composed. Rather than "coarse contrasts," the play offers subtle symmetries, richly drawn characters, deep insights and potent conflict not exactly between right and wrong, but rather between two diametrically opposed concepts of law, ethics and authority. Eliot describes the play's action as the "antagonism of valid principles.""
