Play with drones comes to the Theatre Royal, in Bury St Edmunds

A brother condemned to walk forever in the shadow of death. A family teetering on the brink of catastrophe. A world where one girl dares to take a stand.

Actors of Dionysus take Sophocles’ ancient Greek classic Antigone and place it into a dystopian world where fate is written in code and drones flock across the skies.

Directed by Tamsin Shasha and written by British-American playwright Christopher Adams (Lynchburg and Haunts). Antigone comes to Theatre Royal, in Bury St Edmunds, on Thursday, September 28.

The company was awarded Arts Council funding for the research and development phase of Antigone and during early exploration workshops they were inspired by Sci-Fi films like Tom Cruise’s Minority Report and by Charlie Brooker’s TV series Black Mirror.

This led the company to create a new ground-breaking adaptation which makes use of some unusual technology.

Associate director Deirdre Daly said: “We will use real drones in this production – they will hover around the stage observing every move the characters make, like Gods watching the unfolding action from above.’

’The play also features movement choreography by Ally Cologna (Brouhaha and Haste Theatre) and the music is composed by Matt Eaton (Medea and The History Boys UK tour).

The production is designed by Helen Coyston (Goth Weekend, Stephen Joseph Theatre and Our Mutual Friend, Hull Truck Theatre).

Actors of Dionysus have received much acclaim for their previous productions which include She Denied Nothing, Helen, Lysistrata, Bacchae and Medea. They have toured internationally and at theatres and National Parks across the UK. They have also performed on BBC Radio and have collaborated with Channel 4 and the BFI.