Salt Lake Acting Company’s “Too Much Memory,” which runs Feb. 3 through Feb. 28, describes itself as “an adaptation of an adaptation of a translation” of the Greek tragedy of “Antigone.” Though the play definitely stands on its own, a familiarity with the original sometimes makes it easier to catch the nuances in an adaptation.
For those of us whose college memories of “Antigone” have largely faded when it comes to anything more than the title and a tragic ending, the play starts with two brothers leading opposite sides of a civil war. They both die, and the new king, Creon, decides that the brother on the side he didn’t like should lie unburied and serve as carrion for the vultures. Antigone, sister to the fallen brothers, wants to defy the king and spare her brother’s body. Ismene, another sister, tries to stop her, but Antigone buries her brother’s body anyway.
“Anarchy, it’s like a great wind pushing me forward,” says Antigone in “Too Much Memory.” “At any moment, any one of us, we can seize it, embrace it. It’s our freedom.”
Creon finds out and furiously sentences Antigone to be buried alive. Since this is a Greek tragedy, the gods get involved and more deaths follow. In the end, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.
“You have no idea what death means,” says Creon in “Too Much Memory.” “You don’t serve any greater good by dying. You won’t create a revolution or even a protest. Because the truth is, nobody cares.”
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