Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (reviewed Thursday 24 October).
Henrik Isben’s Hedda Gabler presented by Secret House is a beautifully rendered psychological thriller. If the titular Hedda Gabler were a meme she would be a represented as a cat – aloof, disruptively curious and only deigning to be kept by an owner who she regards as beneath her, so that she can enjoy the finer things in life.
Ella Prince gives their character of Gabler this feline quality, a purring of feigned emotions as she delights in the cruelty and chaos she creates to ease the maddening boredom of her socially conditioned domesticity. She knows the men who orbit around her want to stroke her and keep her on their own account, and while she enjoys their admiration, she won’t let them touch her.
In a play marked by four Acts over 95 minutes, Director Anthony Skuse is in no hurry to rush through his adaptation, instead building up tension through socially awkward exchanges, thus piquing our interest in Gabler’s power. Gabler is an electric jolt the instant she appears on stage behind thick wood panelling doors, like a cat emerging from its slumber demanding some attention and playtime. In this predatory atmosphere of intimidation and mischief, Gabler’s victims are diminished in her presence, too timid and mousey to escape the claws of her verbal spars. Hedda Gabler stalks into the room with a mocking smile and intense gaze, cutting those beneath her with backhanded compliments.
The only character who can match her is Judge Brack (Christopher Tomkinson), who appraises her with a sexual appetite. There is chemistry in their interactions as he gradually brings down Gabler from her pedestal, revealing that her actions have left her vulnerable, empty, hollow, and trapped. As those she once mocked attend themselves to being industrious and useful, we see the mask slipping from Gabler’s angular features as the hunger for something meaningful, worthy of her intellectual prowess, eats her from within.
The staging is sparse, making use of seating on either side of the traverse stage at KxT Theatre. Lighting design (Travis Kecek) and cues from a side narrator / pianist (Christie May) indicate a heightened yearning for excitement, an ache for action. The solo piano piece in Act 4 is haunting and exquisite.
As a period piece set in 1890 with characters clearly dressed in such costume, the single use of the word ‘Fuck!!’ uttered by Gabler’s husband seems anachronistic and shoe-horned for humorous effect, though a quick search on Wiki makes it a moot point. A side parallel remark (‘yes that is so!’) uttered by Gabler’s husband is more successful in being randomly comical. The lines in Hedda Gabler are not as sharp and witty as Austen, but the audience did laugh intermittently.
The tragic ending in Act 4 is foreshadowed long before it happens, so although it is not as shocking as expected, it still leaves a trace of lingering condolence about Gabler’s fate and the many lives she could have led.
Hedda Gabler is playing at KxT Theatre in Broadway til 2 November. For tickets and showtimes, go to https://www.kingsxtheatre.com/hedda-gabler
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CREDITS
PLAYWRIGHT – HENRIK IBSEN
VERSION BY – ANTHONY SKUSE
DIRECTOR – ANTHONY SKUSE
PRODUCER – JANE ANGHARAD
SET DESIGNER – JAMES SMITHERS
LIGHTING DESIGN – TRAVIS KECEK
COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGN – CHRISTIE MAE
COSTUMES – ANTHONY SKUSE
ASST DIRECTOR/PRODUCER – TALIA BENATAR
STAGE MANAGER – MACKENZIE O’BYRNE
FILM & PHOTOGRAPHY – BRAIDEN TOKO
ASSISTANT LIGHTING & TECH – CLARE SHERIDAN
ASSISTANT DESIGNER – MAX SHAW
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER – MATILDA HOLTON
HEDDA GABLER – ELLA PRINCE
JÖRGEN TESMAN – JAMES SMITHERS
JULIANA TESMAN – SUZANN JAMES
EILERT LÖVBORG – JACK ANGWIN
THEA ELVSTED – JANE ANGHARAD
JUDGE BRACK – CHRISTOPHER TOMKINSON