In this review of a 1956 revival of Anouilh's play, Clurman examines the political nature of Antigone while offering a mixed appraisal of the work.

I never read a French review of Anouilh's Antigone but report has it that when it was done in Paris during the Occupation it was considered a covert piece of propaganda urging defiance of the Nazi government. Yet the Nazi authorities permitted its production. It seems to have meant different things to different people.

In the hush of its present revival by a new theatre organization Mazda Productions I believe I discern how this case of mistaken identity could occur. Anouilh's Antigone defies Creon not because her moral sense has been outraged, but because, having been informed that her brother was a despicable thug by the very reasonable politician Anouilh has made Creon, she sees that life isn't worth living at all. All...