Antigone-the classic Greek drama of disobeying authority-is a very astute choice for The UnConvention. The Abingdon Theatre's West 36th Street location is just a few blocks from Madison Square Garden, putting it in what feels like the "Green Zone" of Manhattan, and many authorities must be obeyed just to get to the venue. Like a frame around the production, this pre-show experience of barricades, armored vehicles, and heavily armed officers gives an effective visual reference for authority to draw upon during the performance.

One Year Lease is presenting this updated revival of their 2001 production, which played in New York and internationally. This is Jean Anouilh's Antigone, an accessible, modern version of Sophocles' drama, originally written during the Nazi occupation of France. To Anouilh's text, this production also adds a letter from an Army Sergeant currently serving in Iraq to his mother, bringing the context of the action to the immediate present.

The performances of the four actors in this production are uniformly clear and precise, but director Ianthe Demos has made some challenging choices which create a distance between the audience and the drama. The heart of Greek Drama is argument-the action of the play is the clash of ideas and beliefs. So it is frustrating that some aspects of the staging make the arguments hard to follow. Rather than using a full cast of actors, or actors in multiple roles (as the original Greek drama would have done), many of the supporting parts are played by stacks of sand bags; that is to say, recorded dialogue is played with a light shining on one of six stacks of bags. No matter how skilled the sound design, and how hard the live performer is working, it is very difficult to find an extended scene between an actor and an inanimate object compelling. Furthermore, much of the dialogue of the Chorus is in French, and most of the role of Haemon, Antigone's fiancé, is performed in Greek. I felt a sense of relief when we finally reached an English language scene with two live actors-the confrontation between Antigone (Tella Storey) and Creon (Ariane Barbanell). Both are passionate and driven and I found myself completely engaged in their debate-which made it all the more disappointing when it was time for more recorded-sandbag characters to "enter" and muddy the proceedings. As the descriptions of some of the most important events of the play (which, in the Greek tradition, occur offstage) are left to these non-presences, it makes the climax and resolution of the play hard to follow for anyone not already familiar with the story.

The design of the production is very effective in its simple, direct style-the floor of the playing area is covered in sand, and the stacks of bags are the only set. Throughout the production, photographic images of the first Gulf War are projected on the back wall. I was particularly impressed by the work of lighting designer Mike Riggs, who manages to create a rich atmosphere in the small space, without ever leaving a speaking actor unlit or interfering with the projections. And his lighting on a repeated visual effect of raining sand is beautiful.

I have very much enjoyed the past work of One Year Lease-their work is consistently innovative and their production values are high. I think Demos is a remarkable director, I just wish that this time she let us get closer to the play itself. Anouilh's version of Antigone is an interpretation, rather than a translation. And this production felt like an interpretation of an interpretation and too many degrees removed from the drama itself.