★★★½
La Boite kicking off the first show of its second century with Antigone is certainly a bold way to start the 2026 season. For a story that’s pushing close to 2,500 years old, it has a funny way of never really feeling outdated.
At its core, it’s the story of a stubborn ruler and the inevitable fallout that comes when pride gets in the way of reason. That sentiment felt true seven years ago when I reviewed Queensland Theatre’s production, just as it feels true now in the midst of rising global tensions.
Now, I must be honest up front. Queensland Theatre’s 2019 production of Antigone sits very high on the scale of their all-time best productions, so I came into this review with high (and unreasonable) expectations.
For those who haven’t seen it before, Antigone is one of those ancient Greek plays that just refuses to age. It is the story of two brothers who go to war over different ideologies of how the city of Thebes should be ruled, and as a result, end up dying by each other’s sword.
Their uncle Creon ascends the throne and immediately lays down the word of the law. One brother shall be buried with full military honours, while the other, branded as a traitor, shall be left to rot on the outskirts of town.
Fuelled by grief and a stubborn belief that the law of the gods is mightier than the rule of kings, their sister Antigone decides to bury her ‘traitorous’ brother anyway. Suffice it to say that the new king did not take this very well.
La Boite’s version, co-directed by Courtney Stewart and Nigel Poulton, keeps things pretty simple and lets the story do most of the work. The Roundhouse Theatre lives up to its name, set up in the round, with the stage in the middle and the audience surrounding it on all sides.
The set itself is minimal, save for a glowing hole sitting six inches deep in its centre. As the night goes on, it starts to feel more symbolic than decorative. Death, the afterlife, fate… whatever interpretation you want to run with, it’s sitting there in plain sight.
The stripped-back approach works in the show’s favour. Antigone is a story driven almost entirely through dialogue and argument, so anything elaborate would probably just get in the way.
One visual moment that stands out is the sand falling slowly from above into the centre of the stage. Designed by Josh McIntosh, it gradually builds throughout the show and begins to feel like an hourglass quietly ticking down towards the seal of Antigone’s fate.
A year on from my review of La Boite’s Macbeth, it was a nice little déjà vu moment seeing the dynamic duo of Teegan Kranenburg (lighting) and Brady Watkins (sound) teaming up once more. Their partnership was easily one of the strongest elements of that production, as it is for this one also.
They consistently deliver the right tones and soundscapes when they are needed, and even with a stripped-back stage, their design elevates the performance. Moments of battle, heartbreak and grief land far stronger because of the atmosphere they build together.
Taking on the title role, Maddison Burridge delivers a very strong performance as Antigone. It’s not an easy character to play, or an expectation to live up to when I still have Jess Tovey’s performance in the back of my mind.
In saying that, she excelled. Antigone is stubborn, emotional and entirely set in her conviction that her decision is the right one. Burridge leans in heavily on that determination and gives the character a true sense of purpose and willingness to die for her beliefs.
Throughout, she still allows her vulnerability to sprinkle through – like the sand falling from the ceiling, which makes her performance feel more grounded than heroic.
Opposite her, Hayden Spencer steps into the role of Creon with the kind of vocal authority you would expect from someone with more than three decades of stage experience. Having seen his recent performance as Nathan Jessep in Queensland Theatre’s A Few Good Men, I expected nothing less than a powerful performance.
Vocally, he delivers. He carries the kind of authority you want from a king. At times, though, some of the physical movement around the stage felt a little less natural. Certain gestures and transitions came across slightly forced, which occasionally pulled attention away from what was otherwise a strong performance.
Billy Fogarty also has the small challenge of playing not one, but four characters across the night, appearing as Ismene, Haemon, the blind prophet Teiresias and a Sentry. It’s a fairly ambitious bit of casting and, for the most part, Fogarty handles the balancing act well.
If you look at each character on its own, there is some really nice work going on. Ismene, in particular, has a few quieter moments that are delivered with good pacing and land nicely with the audience.
The only thing that occasionally makes it tricky is the voice. Across the three roles, it stays fairly consistent, which means it can take a second to reset when a new character appears. The costumes do a solid job of letting you know who’s who, so visually it’s never confusing, but vocally the shift isn’t quite as clear.
Over a wine at the end of the performance, I found myself googling quotes to summarise the many thoughts in my head, and this one from Neil Strauss felt particularly fitting: “Expectations are premeditated resentments.”
I came into opening night expecting something similar to the 2019 production, and in hindsight, that was probably unfair. Once I put that comparison aside, it became much easier to appreciate La Boite’s production for what it is.
Antigone is still one of the great stories of theatre. A tale about power, pride and the courage to stand up to authority. Right now, it feels just as relevant as it ever has. La Boite’s Antigone ends up doing exactly what it should. It reminds you why this story has managed to survive for more than two thousand years in the first place.
Antigone is presented by La Boite Theatre and runs to 21 March at the Roundhouse Theatre, 6 Musk Avenue Kelvin Grove 4059.
Tickets: https://laboite.com.au/shows/antigone
Website: https://laboite.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/laboitetheatre/
Photo credits: Dean Hanson Photography
