Hermínia Silva’s New Antigone: a socio-political parody (1946 and 1976)

Abstract

In 1946, during the height of the dictatorial regime, Hermínia Silva played the role of Anti- gone in Sempre de Pé!, a parody of Júlio Dantas’ play, which had premiered that same year at the National Theatre. This performance earned the actress the National Theatre Award in 1947. The choice of the character Antigone for this parody primarily served as a response to Dan- tas’ play, which had been staged by the Robles Monteiro-Rey Colaço Company and featured the debut of the young actress Mariana Rey Monteiro. Sempre de Pé! challenged the restric- tions of censorship by
delivering subversive messages through creative means, and thus the “New Antigone” became a symbol of defiance in the face of oppression. Thirty years later, in 1976, in the revue play Afinal como é?, Hermínia Silva reprised the New Antigone from 1946, this time to critique the new political landscape emerging in Portugal. Two years after the April Revolution, Antigone was once again employed as a means of reflecting on the political climate and the regime of the time. This essay focuses on analysing Hermínia Silva’s perfor- mance, her influence on the portrayal of resistance to the dictatorship, and the significance of revue theatre in the broader context of the fight for freedom. Additionally, it explores how f Antigone provided a foundation for conveying these ideas, this time through the forms forms of comedy and parody.