Scottish Dance Theatre, Antigone, Interrupted, The Place

Scottish Dance Theatre (not to be confused with Scottish Ballet) works at the cutting edge of contemporary dance, always exploring new paths and finding new means of expression within the wider ambit of dance.

The Dundee-based company is made up of nine dancers, under the directorship of the Catalonian dancer and choreographer Joan Clevillè; but its new work, Antigone, Interrupted, is a one-woman show, created by Clevillè in collaboration with the French dancer Solène Weinachter, last seen in London as Juliet in Lost Dog’s Juliet and Romeo.

Antigone, Interrupted is inspired by the Greek tragedy of Antigone, who defied the tyrant of Thebes, Creon, to perform burial rites for her brother, whom Creon had ordered left to rot unburied for treason.

Performed in the round, Scottish Dance Theatre’s Antigone, Interrupted reimagines the Greek tragedy for contemporary audiences through a distinctive mixture of dance, theatre and storytelling.

Antigone, Interrupted follows the story of a young woman, who disobeys the law and puts her body on the line to defend what she thinks is right. Through the medium of the body’s strength and vulnerability, the work examines the value of dissent in contemporary society. The body, it concludes, can be a target of oppression, but also a powerful tool for challenging social injustice.

Solène Weinachter has worked with Scottish Dance Theatre before. A strong and expressive stage performer, she was nominated in the 2018 National Dance Awards for her role in Juliet and Romeo. Her Juliet, who escaped death to marry Romeo, is now in early middle age. The passion of adolescence is long gone, eroded by familiarity and the challenges of everyday life. All this she expresses powerfully through a dialogue of words and dance with Romeo.

She will surely be a compelling Antigone.

The creative team for Antigone, Interrupted includes award-winning playwright Ella Hickson, composer Luke Sutherland and designers Matthias Strahm and Emma Jones.

Age Guidance: 12+