A Welsh-language television production of the classic Greek tragedy.
King Creon of Thebes (Brinley Jenkins) declares that the body of his rebellious nephew, Polynices, must be left unburied as a warning to all traitors. Polynices’ sister, Antigone (Annest William), ignores the decree and her sister Ismene’s (Mair Thomas) warnings, choosing instead to obey the laws of the gods by giving her brother a proper burial. Her act of defiance places Creon in an impossible position: he must either execute his niece for treason or undermine his own royal authority. The tragedy deepens as Creon’s son, Haemon (Clive Roberts), who is engaged to Antigone, challenges his father’s judgment.
Broadcast on BBC One Wales, this production presented the Sophocles tragedy to a Welsh-speaking audience. The script used a celebrated translation by the academic and poet W. J. Gruffydd, a significant figure in 20th-century Welsh literature. The project was part of the BBC’s remit to provide culturally specific programming for the nations, bringing a cornerstone of European theatre into the Welsh language. The staging was direct and focused on the performances, allowing the power of the original story’s moral and political questions to take centre stage.
Broadcast: BBC One Wales, 1 Episode, 13 April 1966
Adapted from Sophocles by: W. J. Gruffydd
Director: Dafydd Gruffydd
Main Cast: Annest William (Antigone), Mair Thomas (Ismene), Brinley Jenkins (Creon), Dic Hughes (Hynafgwr Thebau), Huw Tudor (Gwyliwr), Clive Roberts (Haemon), Dillwyn Owen (Teiresias), Harold Jenkins (Negesydd), Dilys Price (Ewridice)
