Anna Burnside reviews a production with all the elements 'for a firecracker of a show' that's let down by its star casting.
Much excitement preceded Juliette Binoche's Antigone in Fergus Linehan's first Edinburgh International Festival. The luminous French star's face peers down at the capital from buses. Pensioners with limited mobility made the dangerous ascent to the Grand Circle.
All this despite the fact that the London critics were unconvinced by Binoche's accentless English and shrill approach to Sophocles. Would director Ivo van Hove dial it down for Edinburgh or would the same flaws remain?
He was stuck with one of the main problems identified earlier on in the run: the translation. Canadian poet and classical scholar Ann Carson has all the right qualifications but her text is lumpy and jumpy. There is stately talk of edicts then gangsters and cover-ups. The language of high office sits uncomfortably beside the lowest common denominator vernacular of the more casual moments.
Then there is Binoche. At 51, she is the wrong age for the part of the grieving sister defying her uncle to bury her brother. Her Hollywood English is flat. To compensate for this, she whispers or shouts. Touring companies are under huge commercial pressure to cast bankable stars to guarantee bums on seats. This production is by the Barbican, London, and Les Theatres de la Ville de Luxembourg in association with Toeneelgroep Amsterdam. Surely they are not similarly constrained?
Binoche's performance, as a drama queen of the present day rather than ancient Thebes, is pointed up by the strength of the rest of the cast. Patrick O'Kane is a deliciously understated Kreon and Obi Abili as the guard brings warmth and a light touch that is not easy to find in this script.
It looks wonderful. The set and lighting, by Toneelgroep's Jan Versweyveld, is mesmerising. A huge circle of light dominates, changing colour, switching between moon and sun. A shallow grave, in the middle of the stage, opens and closes as required. At one point the cast walk around it as if it was not there.
The furniture is modern and anonymous. Binoche wears the loose black layers favoured by the ladies of the creative industries. Ismene, her less rebellious sister is constrained by a skirt and heels.
All the elements are in place for a firecracker of a show. The design and the rest of the cast more than deliver the intensity a tragedy demands. So the finger must point at Den Hove, for casting Binoche and then letting her off the hook.
Antigone is at the Kings Theatre until August 22, 2015. It is part of this year's Edinburgh International Festival.
RSS