Colm Tóibín’s poetic and reflective new version decides to unearth another figure, though, Antigone’s sister, Ismene. In Tóibín’s play, Antigone disparages her sister even as she shields her from Creon’s wrath: “She had nothing to do with this,” Antigone insists of her brother’s burial, without looking at her sister. “She did nothing.”Seeking to share the fatal punishment of her sister, Ismene was condemned to live instead. That’s how Tóibín’s character sees herself: the guilty, dutiful survivor. “Instead of thunder we need thought,” Antigone urges Creon, and for one tantalising moment her words are almost effective.

Source: The Irish Times November 06, 2019 14:53 UTC