Who here can tell what law we owe the dead? Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, is a child of war. Thousands of years ago she asked a question: What do we do with the body of the enemy, when this enemy is our brother? Creon, Antigones uncle, is a leader trying to usher in democracy after a brutal civil war. When Creon discovers what Antigone has done, both of them suffer the consequences. Personal conscience is pitted against national law and neither come out clean. Damien Ryans new adaptation of Sophocles classic takes the conflicts of ancient Thebes and wrenches them passionately into the present. This story of war and its aftermath is a powerful yet vulnerable allegory about one of historys most famous families. Cyrano de Bergerac is convinced that his outrageously-sized nose will forever stop him from being loved by Roxane, his intellectual and beautiful friend. But Roxane is in lovewith Christian, a handsome yet inarticulate soldier in Cyranos regiment. Together, Christian and Cyrano make a flawless human. This epic plot spans a whole war, from Parisian bakeries to the bloody battlefront. Dramatic irony takes centre stage alongside Cyranos sharp wit and painful yearning. Edmond Rostands original 1890s tragicomic French masterpiece is the unique romance that brought the word panache into the English language. This new adaptation by Damien Ryan brings the action forward to WWI, where Cyrano is a war poet like no other. Sport for Joves production of Antigone won seven Sydney Theatre Awards in 2016. Sport for Joves production of Cyrano de Bergerac won three Sydney Theatre Awards in 2013.
Damien Ryan trained and worked as a journalist in the early 1990s, graduating from the University of Technology in Sydney, before moving into the theatre industry where he has worked professionally since 1995, as an actor, director and writer. He founded Sport for Jove Theatre Co. in 2009, and has worked for Bell Shakespeare for 15 years, along with Belvoir St Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company. His theatre work has received many awards. He has also worked and lectured in the education sector in Australia, at secondary and tertiary levels. Damien has been a proud member of the MEAA for 23 years.
"[Brings the original] whole and unharmed and germane into the now." -- Diana Simmonds, StageNoise
