If the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) were a repertory company in the old sense of the term, if like the players in Hamlet they roamed the countryside, performing plays from their repertoire on request, Sophocles' Antigone would probably be in greater demand than other recent A.R.T. productions like Full Circle, Loot or Nobody Dies on Friday. Antigone would be a staple performance.

Indeed, this Antigone feels as if it were produced out of a sense of duty-to the canon and to the vague responsibilities associated with the word "repertory." That is not to say it is boring, but it neither twinkles nor roars nor engages contemporary life in a new way. It is solid, in the slightly condescending sense of the word.

The A.R.T. has a reputation for razzle and controversial showmanship; Antigone is a diamond in a string of rubies and emeralds. Compared to another A.R.T. Greek tragedy, their Bacchae of the 1997-98 season, also directed by Francois Rochaix, Antigone lacks explosiveness. Perhaps more effort went into their Bacchae because that play called for the loud dithyrambic energry that the A.R.T. often brings even to playwrights like Brecht. Antigone provides fewer opportunities for special effects. The one dance to honor Dionysus that comes late in the play is seized; it is more exciting than the rest of the play but has little to do with it.

The star of this Antigone is Creon, not Antigone. While the recent interest in Antigone as a feminist hero is not ignored, it is not the focus of the production. Creon, the tyrant of Thebes who forbids the burial of Antigone's brother and then punishes her for doing so, is played by John Douglas Thompson. He portrays a young vigorous leader eager to consolidate his position and prove his ability, naive to the moral compromises leadership may require. Thompson has an honest and energetic face that draws the audience to sympathize with Creon. According to Thompson's portrayal, Creon bends to the will of the gods-who support Antigone-only when forced.

Aysan Celik's Antigone, on the other hand, captures the ambiguities and changing motives that Sophocles built into her role. At the beginning of the play, she trespasses Creon's decree with an eye to glorious martyrdom, only to become hideously frightened once her execution is inevitable. Thompson's Creon acts on character; Celik's Antigone is impulsive. These two actors' interpretations of the role are the closest the production comes to being a prism that reflects contemporary times. Antigone is the baby boomer of the 60s, fighting the good fight for all the reasons right and wrong; Creon is the adult baby boomer, clinging to material success in a very fallible way.

This production can be recommended primarily on the grounds that it is an involving performance of a classic play, and the minor characters and chorus ensure that the audience does not daydream. Best is Thomas Derrah as the Sentry, the farcical messenger who comes to Creon bearing bad news. He evokes a bratty 12-year-old impersonating a defensive but cynical rail worker who has caused a six car train wreck.

The A.R.T. uses Robert Fagles' translation of the Greek. Fagles is best known for his recent translations of Homer, and like those works, this text scans fluidly, is easily understood when spoken and is often the epitome of "plain English." If this production lacks the cantankerous glitz of many A.R.T. productions and seems less relevant than 20th century productions of Antigone by Hasenclever, Anouihl or Brecht, it is because, like Fagles' translation, it is primarily concerned with bringing a classical text to life.

ANTIGONE