Eteocles.
Eteocles is the most overt profiteer of capitalism in the show. He also appears for the shortest period of time in the play, and only because of Antigone’s wedding. He is a businessman in a suit so well fitted it has to be bespoke, so set in his ideals that nothing could ever move him away from them, even his death. The script does not provide much overtly in the way of his attire, simply presenting him to be “in a fine suit” (14). Instead, his wardrobe is somewhat subjective, garnered through his lines. To me, he is confident, flamboyant, and completely aware of the power that he held as the king. His immediate notions of the afterlife being something you must work hard to do well at (16) being one of such allusions to his political leanings. Instead of responding to his sisters distress at being under house arrest for treason, he tells her to not worry, to “get creon’s lawyers on it, it’ll be fine” (16), insinuating that anything can be fixed with money and talking. On the surface, Eteocles puts forth an air of outdated systems and ideas in his vehement endorsements of capitalism and he profits from the suffering of the average population. Eteocles’ outfit is reminiscent of a custom white suit straight out of the seventies, complete with a longer jacket trim and shoulder pads. The outfit is dated, and the stark white colour would be an egregious insult to any other bride to see her brother in on her day. However, I designed this outfit with this prejudice in mind. The colour helps to showcase Eteocles’ literal thinking on a physical level. He simply calls it “my wedding suit” (15), and at no point does he ever show that the choice was made in ill will or conscious desire for conflict, and no one questions him on it.
The Coat
The fur coat was quite the adventure to arrive on. When in discussions, David and I decided that we needed a way to try and protect the white suit from the extreme physical action that he would eventually have to do with Antigone and Polynices during their scenes together. We wanted to be prepared. So we began brainstorming ideas on how to protect him while still playing into his ‘kingly’ appearance and literal nature. Eteocles is also a flamboyant character, just like his brother, though he shows his flamboyance in a much different way. While I will discuss how Polynices is very alternatively queer in his fashion choices in his respective section, Eteocles had to present himself as more reserved, but just as out-of-the-closet as his brother. In one of our early meetings while discussing how we should implement a method of protecting the suit, David showed me the instagram account of Fabrizio Brienza, who would become our catalyst for the ‘fabulousness’ that this coat had to exude. We knew the coat could not be white due to the actions onstage, but the shape of it was just perfect. It felt top heavy, all shoulders, and lion-like. The action of intentionally looking more lion-like would make for an unequivocal visual impact, important for the slaughtered King of Thebes for his identification and for his character. The lion being a guardian to numerous ancient greek tombs and burial sites (Koiner), would help to visually elevate his protective nature regarding his sisters; Like many older brothers, Eteocles consistently proliferates advice to Antigone, advising her on how to act (Fournier, 15-17), genuinely trying to help and compliment her in his own way. In the end, the lion felt like the perfect choice for him because of it’s flamboyant and overall presence to make Eteocles seem larger than life.