The Plague at Thebes: A dynamic reworking of Sophocles’ Antigone and Oedipus The King (Day 1 - 19:00)

Wrecked by plague and wounded by civil war, the citizens of Thebes watch as its ruling family grapples with the past.

Antigone is on trial. She has defied King Creon’s edict and secretly offered funeral rites to her dead brother Polynices. As she awaits her fate she relives her family’s recent history, slowly unravelling the violent and incestuous cycle of the House of Cadmus. Telling the mythical story of Oedipus from the perspective of his courageous daughter Antigone, the King’s Greek Play 2022 will examine how our history can shape our actions and beliefs, as well as reflecting upon the unexpected ways in which the present moment might shape the lives of future generations.

Created by current King’s College London students, The Plague at Thebes offers a contemporary response to Sophocles’ plays. This continues King's College London’s recent history of pushing the boundaries and conventions of the Greek Play to explore how contemporary performance of Greek drama can help us engage with the fraught times in which we find ourselves living. The performance will incorporate original ancient Greek text and new writing in order to present a work that speaks to the social and political consequences of an unprecedented pandemic, civil disobedience, and the place and responsibility of an individual within society.

This year’s play will again be ideal for those studying Classical Civilisation – Oedipus the King is a prescribed text for the OCR A level syllabus – as well as students taking Classics, Drama, and English.

The play will be performed at the Greenwood Theatre (55 Weston Street, SE1 3RA) from 22-24 June 2022 (19.00 nightly with 14.30 matinées on the 22 and 24). Evening performances will be preceded by pre-show events at 18.00 featuring leading scholars; these are free to ticket holders for the subsequent performance.

Tickets are £12 (£8 concessions) and booking will open March 15^th.

A special reduced rate is available for school & further education groups. To book, email Angelica directly at greekplay@kcl.ac.uk. Teachers accompanying their students go free: please contact Angelica to arrange.

We'll be hosting a free post-show tea with the cast and staff members after the Friday matinee, open to King's alumni. Please contact Angelica (greekplay@kcl.ac.uk) to let her know you're coming.