Poet, playwright and performer Inua Ellams stormed the National Theatre with his 2017 masterpiece Barber Shop Chronicles and 2019 Nigerian take on Chekhov's Three Sisters. This year has seen him organise a mini arts festival, O5 Fest, at the Albany in Deptford as part of the Lewisham Borough of Culture programme. There, he presented a script-in-hand sneak preview of his next play, A Block of Flats, imagining what would happen if five inhabitants of one block of flats (like the one where he grew up in Brixton) were left to decide the fate of humanity. Before that gets to the stage, though, Ellams is closing the 90th birthday season at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre with his retelling of Sophocles' tragedy Antigone.
The third and final instalment of the Ancient Greek playwright's Theban plays, Antigone follows the titular, brave daughter of Oedipus, who attempts to bury her brother Polynices against King Creon's wishes, and is sentenced to be buried alive as punishment.
Details of Ellams' production, including casting and the era he'll set his adaptation in, are yet to be announced.
Max Webster (Life of Pi, Henry V) is directing the production, which runs from Saturday 3 - Saturday 24 September. Antigone follows on from two fluffy musicals: Zinnie Harris's twice-delayed musical adaptation of Dodi Smith's 101 Dalmatians and Lucy Moss's revival of Legally Blonde the Musical, starring Courtney Bowman.
| What | Antigone, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre |
| Where | Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, Inner Cir, Westminster, London, NW1 4NU | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Baker Street (underground) |
| When |
03 Sep 22 – 24 Sep 22, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Price | £20 - £55 |
| Website | Click here for more information and to book |
