Antígone América: resistance and prefiguration of the Brazilian dictatorship

Abstract

Throughout the 20th century, Antigone became a symbol of resistance against oppression and injustice, of the strength of the individual against the State. Since then, Sophocles’ tragedy has received countless adaptations and re-readings in which its heroine catalyzes reflection on contemporary dilemmas. In Brazil it was no different and, among the reconfigurations of Oedipus’ daughter on the American continent, I will highlight Antígone América (1962), a play that marks the debut of Carlos Henrique Escobar (São Paulo, Brazil, 1933 – Aveiro, Portugal, 2023) as a playwright. Although it was conceived and produced before the military dictatorship that was installed in the country for two decades (1964-1985), Antígone América presents a diagnosis of the social and political tensions that led to the military coup. It is interesting to discuss the transposition of the Sophoclean character to the Brazilian context at the time and how Escobar’s play contributed to making Antigone a critical voice of the dictatorship, given that the Greek tragedy will be reenacted on more than one occasion during this period. Two productions were especially significant, both from 1969, the year that marked the intensification of the dictatorship, manifested in widespread censorship, torture, and arbitrary arrests, Ato sem Perdão, directed by José Renato, and Antígona, by João das Neves, respectively in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.