As the ancient world witnessed the birth of democracy 500 or so years before the common era, the prolific Athenian playwright Sophokles was penning the first written dramas. That these two touchstones of political and cultural advancement were birthed simultaneously in the creatively fertile civilization of Athens is not a surprise.
In 2025 Washington, DC, democracy feels fragile — even on the brink of failure in light of the current political ruling class’s embrace of neo-fascistic, nepotistic, and kleptocratic policies and practices. In this climate, the third of Sophokles’ Theban plays, written in the fifth century BCE, feels alarmingly prescient.
A young theater troupe with the out-of-the-ordinary moniker Songs of the Goat draws on the wisdom and storytelling of the ancient Greeks to return these dramas to the stage to be seen with fresh eyes. Comprised primarily of actors and theater creatives from DC’s well-respected Studio Acting Conservatory, Songs of the Goat strives to “engage new audiences and perpetuate the 2,500-year-old tradition of ritualized storytelling, exploring timeless themes of fate, order, and justice,” as it states in its mission.
And that name does not use “GOAT” in its current vernacular, an acronym for “greatest of all time.” Rather, tragos means goat in Greek and is the root of tragoidia, from which the English tragedy derives. Oidia means song or, better, it suggests ode.
These earliest tragedies were performed at Athens’ annual festival for Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, and revelry. In fact, some reports of these ancient Dionysian festivals, with dramatic storytelling, supported by a chorus, noted that a sacrificed goat may have been part of the festival practices.
Not unlike Lost or Westworld, Antigone has a complicated backstory that sets the stage, before even getting to the conflicts begat by Kreon.
The daughter of King Oedipus and his mother/wife, Jocasta, Antigone has the ultimate in family dysfunction. In the eponymous play, she is set on providing an honorable burial for her brother Polynices, which has been forbidden by the current ruler, Kreon, also her uncle. And, yes, the backstory gets more complicated. The two brothers — Polynices and Eteocles — were in a power struggle for the throne and killed each other in battle, fulfilling a curse placed on Kreon.
Song of the Goat stages this ancient production in what feels like the mid-1960s or early 1970s, when plaid dirndls with cardigans and bellbottom jeans and T-shirts were the styles of choice, along with heavy tortoiseshell glasses and quirky print bowling shirts.
Carlotta Capuano gives her Antigone bold assertiveness, while Tiana Lockhart’s Ismene is a rule-follower, cautious, even fearful, of defying Kreon’s decree. Silas Gordon Brigham’s Kreon is the ultimate alpha, clad in a sharp suit; his equally sharp replies reveal him as a power-hungry K-Street lobbyist and would-be king. A foil for the opposite sisters, one brash and brusque, the other retiring and reticent, Maryanne Henderson puts verve and even a bit of chutzpah — albeit modulated when it comes to negotiating with Kreon — in her role as Messenger. In a military tank and fatigues, she adds to the feminist undercurrent that keeps Antigone pushing against authority. The ten-member cast includes, of course, a Greek chorus (what would a Greek tragedy be without a chorus commenting on a tragic turn of events?), which, as per tradition, serves as a singular character reciting related songs in unison and responsively.
Set in ancient Thebes, the production in the Atlas Performing Arts Center’s intimate 65-seat Lab Theater 1 takes advantage of the spare theater-in-the-square arena setting. Director/set designer Kate Debelack peppers the bare stage with a few cinderblocks, trash, and trash bins. Solomon HaileSellasie’s lighting provides the mood and the scene changes that keep Antigone alive.
Canadian poet and classics professor Anne Carson’s modern-day translation, supported by Debelack’s spare yet muscular direction, is integral to this vivid and visceral remake. Sophokles remains relevant when theater artists find themselves and their own political and cultural moments in these ancient stories. Song of the Goat has found the perfect vehicle for this political moment. Riding the DC Streetcar up H Street NE, it was hard to ignore the presence of uniformed National Guard groups, following President Trump’s orders. And then, waiting for the show to start, one of the visible props was a protest sign proclaiming “Free Thebes.” An audience member sitting just a few feet away wore his own protest on his chest: his black T-shirt proclaimed “Free DC” — ancient and modern pleas for sanity amid despotic rule.
Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission.
Antigone plays through September 14, 2025, presented by Songs of the Goat performing at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC. To purchase tickets ($33.25, all fees included) call the box office at 202-399-7993, email boxoffice@atlasarts.org, or go online.
The program is online here.
COVID Safety: All performances are mask-encouraged.
Content Warnings: mild usage of swearing/coarse language, mild references to and depictions of self-harm, violence, suicide, grief, and mild depictions of use of weapons.
Antigone
by Sophokles
translated by Anne Carson
directed by Kate Debelack
SEE ALSO:
Songs of the Goat brings timely retelling of ‘Antigone’ to DC stage (news story, August 28, 2025)
