THE once-bold idea of taking a classic play and placing it in a contemporary setting has now become an almost hackneyed concept.

However, in the safe hands of writer Roy Williams, director Marcus Romer and designer Joanna Scotcher, this reworking of Sophocles’ 2,500-year-old Greek tragedy fairly crackles with vigour and vitality.

In this adaptation, Thebes is a bleak urban landscape where gang violence is rife and Creo (Mark Monero) is the feared top dog.

When Orrin, brother of Antigone (Savannah Gordon-Liburd), is killed, Creo orders that his body should remain uncovered in the street as a mark of disrespect, Orrin having “turned against his fam, his city, you, all of us!”

Grief-stricken Antigone, though, defies Creo and covers the body.

When a furious Creo finds out who is responsible for disobeying him, he vows to make an example of Antigone by burying her alive.

Caught in the middle is Eamon (Gamba Cole), Creo’s son and Antigone’s boyfriend, who faces a desperate battle to persuade his father that forgiveness is the right course of action. But for stubborn Creo, forgiveness is perceived only as weakness.

The excellent Monero owns the stage and brings genuine menace to his role, while Oliver Wilson impresses as both one of Creo’s soldiers and Tyrese, a wise old blind man, and Doreene Blackstock imbues the character of Eunice, Creo’s wife, with formidable strength.

An impressive aspect of the play is its use of film projection in several scenes, while the hum of background music, perhaps not to everyone’s taste, does at least add a touch of urban realism.

This isn’t a perfect production – some of the younger cast members’ emotions seem a little bit ‘drama school’ at times, while the text’s street jargon, with references to “batty bwois” and “skets”, sometimes strays so close to parody that you’re almost expecting a “booyakasha!” to be thrown in for good measure.

On the whole, though, this is a noble and highly enjoyable effort at updating Sophocles for a mostly younger audience and is well worth catching.

Runs until Saturday. For tickets, call the box office on 01962 840440 or visit theatre royalwinchester.co.uk.

IAN KELLY