The Unburied Dead
4M, 3W, 4-10 either
Dramatis Personae
ETEOCLES, heir to Oedipus and defender of Thebes
POLYNEICES, heir to Oedipus and assailer of Thebes
ANTIGONE, heir to Oedipus and loudmouthed bitch
ISMENE, heir to Oedipus and virginal wallflower
CREON, heir to Oedipus and usurper of the throne
HAIMON, son and heir to Creon and Antigone’s boytoy
TEIRISIAS, a blind seer with breasts
The CHORUS, a group of busybodies led by That NOSY BITCH From Up The Street
They also play various GUARDS, a MESSENGER, an ATTENDANT, and OEDIPUS
What if, instead of running at each other headlong in a murderous rage, warring factions sat down and talked it out? That is the initial question that this postmodern update of Sophocles's Antigone proposes within its first minute. Polyneices and Eteocles, the two male heirs to Oedipus's throne, murder each other before the original Antigone begins. The play's title character then sets out to defy the new king's order that Polyneices -- for attacking Thebes -- be left unburied while his brother Eteocles -- who defended the throne -- be given a proper funeral. So what if, just before they killed each other, the two brothers decided to put down their swords and really think about why the were fighting each other in the first place?
For starters, it would throw the entire play into disarray. Creon -- their uncle and the new king of Thebes -- has a plan for his beloved country, and no one, not even its rightful rulers, will stop it. By the end of the first scene a massive cover-up is underway, with the belabored brothers wandering all over Thebes attempting to prove that they are, in fact, still alive. Add into the mix a questionable war with neighboring Persia, and it becomes clear that things must be set aright before they go horribly, horribly wrong. With references ranging from Classical Greece to The Sopranos to the amount of executive power accorded the governor of Texas, The Unburied Dead is a scathing satire that questions the decisions of people in authority and demands answers from those unwilling to give it.