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It seems that not so long ago we were living in a time when it appeared we had learned the lessons history had taught us. Yet today, the worst-case scenarios described in textbooks are coming back to reality. Where should we turn in search of answers? Where should we look when a history not so distant is trying to become our future? Born in the cradle of democracy in ancient Greece, Sophocles’ tragedy "Antigone" reveals an eternal clash of values, a conflict between two political truths, which director Kamilė Gudmonaitė examines through her own lens.
"Although Europe today remains a bloc of liberal democracies, we are seeing a shift toward ideological alternatives. The liberal order is losing its emotional resonance; we are witnessing a disappointment in it and even in the democracy itself. Globalization is perceived as a threat, economic inequality is on the rise, which is why more and more people are turning to populist right-wing parties that offer "clear opponents" and "simple solutions," familiar epics and their heroes, requiring no lengthy and "ineffective" discussions. Against this backdrop—a geopolitical crisis and ongoing wars—I believe the front line here is not primarily a physical boundary, but rather a clash of the world’s ideological currents, just as in our production, the front line of European ideologies is embodied by Sophocles’ "Antigone"," reflects the director.
In the play, Antigone and Creon—characters representing two opposing ideologies—come face to face. Antigone represents the liberal side, fighting and protesting for rights, freedom, and dignity, while Creon embodies populism and right-wing rule. The tragedy proves more relevant than ever, offering an intellectual cross-section of Europe and revealing how the search for truth is pitted against its construction. But in our polyphonic world, can we really still speak of only two truths?
To paraphrase Bonnie Honig, a professor of contemporary culture, media, and political science who has analyzed "Antigone" from a political perspective, antiquity does not become the present; rather, it exists in relation to it. So what is that relationship today? Can a truth such as we have known it until now exist in a time of crisis? After all, if discussion is the engine of democracy, why do we still find it difficult to talk to one another?
