UK Theatre Network

reviewed by Richard Howell-Jones

Sisters are doin’ it for themselves!

 

We, of course, already know this, but to Ibsen’s audience the very idea of such a concept would have been shocking, outrageous, unthinkable; hence the power of A Doll’s House, now playing at the Lowry until 12^th March.

 

From today’s perspective, we can see how Ibsen lulled his audience into a false state of contentment, the not-too-bright but devoted wife led into error by her own devotion and rescued at the last moment by the love and forgiveness of others. Except that the story doesn’t end there as she makes sense of her experience and the happy ending suddenly crashes and burns – or, if you prefer, the sentimentally-predictable suddenly becomes raw and unknown, with the howling winds of freedom sounding a wake-up clarion to the oppressed.

 

Discuss. But what’s interesting about Chris Honer’s production, of a new adaptation by Bryony Lavery, is how it manages to preserve the impact of that unexpected ending while not needing to go too far down the road of modernisation. Granted, there are one or two contemporary phrases which sit uncomfortably with a cast dressed in period tails and bustles, but there’s a feeling that this is a new play, even when one knows it isn’t.

         

The cast, of course, makes this work. Ken Bradshaw’s Torvald is a very personable and likeable chauvinist, clearly an intelligent man who loves but doesn’t understand; without him, played as he is, Nora’s epiphany cannot make sense. And Emma Cunliffe pulls this off beautifully, her Nora delightfully hooked on macaroons and proud of her secret machination, yet seeming not the brightest bulb on the tree, convincingly growing through her emotional journey into an individual woman, slightly bewildered still but nevertheless certain of her actions. In a piece that could so easily be just more man-bashing, these two achieve a near-perfect portrayal of how good intentions just aren’t enough.

         

The rest of the cast propel them to this vital ending with unerring precision. Mrs Linde seemed very peculiar at first, almost an automaton, before it became clear that it was her hard experiences which had made her so. It could be difficult then to allow her to soften as she must without contrivance, yet Sarah Ball manages this effortlessly. Paul Barnhill’s Krogstad, clearly a bitter man with nothing to lose and seemingly no redeeming features, applies exactly the right pressure to get things moving; it’s a pleasant surprise to find later that he is a human being after all. Daniel Brocklebank enjoys himself as Dr. Rank but not too much, while Verity-May Henry (Helene) and Roberta Kerr (Anne-Marie) provide exactly the correct degree of servant support, a period detail hard to achieve.

 

A niggle occurs when the children arrive: their performances are flawless, but one is forced to assume that the Helmers believe in adoption.

 

The only other concern was the intrusive and unnecessary background music, doubtless intended to ensure the audience knew how Nora felt. But Emma Cunliffe needs no irritating drone to tell us this and, no, I don’t mean Torvald.

 

This production, overall, takes what could be a stagy old suffragette and shows that she’s still a fresh young woman with her own ideas, exactly as Ibsen intended. Updated yet perfectly preserved.

 

A Doll’s House, the Manchester Library Theatre Company,

at the Lowry Theatre from 24^th February to 12^th March.

 

Tickets: 0843-208 6010 or www.librarytheatre.com

 

In spite of the Royal Exchange still basking in the glory of its 1978 success with The Lady from the Sea which starred Vanessa Redgrave and transferred to London, I gained the impression on the opening night of this new production that hardly any of the audience (including me) actually knew the play. 

Naturally we were anticipating the usual Ibsen-esque scenarios of gloomy Scandinavian settings, plenty of middle-class angst, a doomed dysfunctional family, and a well flagged-up tragic ending. 

Well, our expectations were utterly confounded by a work which is partly a laugh-out-loud comedy of manners, and partly a modernised legend whose supernatural themes are almost operatic in their emotional intensity.

At first this seems to be the story of an unhappy second marriage between the tipsy Dr Wangel (Reece Dinsdale) and a glamorous woman barely older than his own daughters.  But his new wife Ellida appears to be a mythic figure, like The Little Mermaid or Rusalka, who has been torn from her home, the sea, and struggles to cope with confinement on dry land.  As if that weren’t enough she is haunted by a menacing and mysterious figure from her past, a shape-shifting sailor (Bill Ward) to whom she once pledged herself and who has vowed to return for her.  Neve McIntosh cuts an appropriately romantic figure as the doomed Ellida, and her sense of frustration and claustrophobia are tangible as Wangel tries to pathologise the evil spell that has been cast over her.

It is a thing of wonder how Ibsen manages to graft a tragic myth onto a situation comedy and make it work.  At times it’s like watching a parody of his greatest hits, as themes from A Doll’s House, The Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler and Ghosts are all subverted to comic effect.  The talented local artist Ballested (a beautifully judged cameo by Paul Kemp) is revealed to be a struggling painter and decorator; lucky young Lyngstrand (played as delightfully deluded by Samuel Collings) has about as much good fortune as a human albatross; the pretty child Hilde (subtle Catrin Stewart) is a morbid and nasty prototype goth; and her sister’s romantic former tutor Arnholm (Royal Exchange stalwart Jonathan Keeble bravely playing against type) is a ridiculous, balding middle-aged man. 

Liz Ashcroft’s elegant, sparse design allows the drama to unfold swiftly.  The bleached bare floorboards and handful of empty-framed props are stylish and well-suited to this in-the-round space - something as simple as the gutted carcase of a rowing boat moving through Jack James’s watery video projection creates an astonishing effect which is well in keeping with the metaphorical nature of the play.

Although David Eldridge’s version of a literal translation makes the dialogue often sound clunky and awkward, Sarah Frankcom’s pacy production has the audience on the edge of its seats.  Don’t wait another 32 years to see this fantastic and fascinating play in Manchester.

 
The Lady from the Sea is on until Saturday 6 November 2010

Prices: £9-£30

Evenings: Mon-Fri @ 7.30, Sat @ 8pm [no performance Tues 26 Oct]

Matinees: Wed @ 2.30pm, Sat @ 4pm and Tues 26 Oct @ 2.30pm

Box Office: 0161 833 9833

www.royalexchange.co.uk

A DOLL'S HOUSE by Henrik Ibsen

A New Version by Alan Stanford based on a literary translation by Paul Larkin

Alan Stanford takes on Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” at the Helix Theatre, DCU and is showing there until the 27th of November 2009.

A Dolls house is a play centred around Nora- A housewife and mother of two set in 1879. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Doll's_House )

This play explores the feminine housewife role in the late 1800’s and brings us on a journey of what seems like a ditzy blonde housewife which turns into a story about a smart woman with dark secrets. As we are introduced to the basic set design/home of the Helmers we are introduced to the role of husband and wife and the hilarious but business like relationship between Nora and her husband Torvald played by Lisa Lambe and Peter Gaynor, superbly. As the play unravels we discover dark secrets, which as the plot unfolds we begin taking a frantic and daunting journey with the central character. How will she keep her secrets or what will be the consequence of keeping them? This play explores blackmail, deceit, love, friendship and betrayal.

Overall this play didn’t offer an exhilarating thrill. It seemed like the perfect play to take your grandparents to though!

Robin Stewart
Irish Reviewers

1pm shows– 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th November

8pm shows- 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 26th & 27th November
Venue: The Helix Theatre, DCU
Tickets: €24 (conc. €22)
Weblink: http://www.thehelix.ie/2009_Q4/SecondAge.htm

David Thacker’s artistic directorship at Bolton Octagon continues with Ghosts, featuring four actors from his previous production of All My Sons.

Ibsen’s 1881 play, with its themes of adultery, incest, venereal infection and moral hypocrisy was considered scandalous in its day, and is still pretty hot stuff over a century later.

Wealthy widow Mrs Alving has built an orphanage in memory of her late husband, and old family friend Pastor Manders has come to finalise the arrangements before the grand opening.  With the Alvings’ artist son Oswald just returned from Paris, the scene is set for a happy domestic interlude.  However Mrs Alving’s apparently comfortable home-life is about to be revealed as a whited sepulchre, hiding secrets which have the power to destroy all that is dearest to her.

The programme records the great lengths director David Thacker, translator Erik Skuggevik and the whole cast and have gone to in order to develop the script for a freshly minted “Lancashire version” of Ghosts.  However anyone expecting some resemblance to a Blake Morrison/Northern Broadsides collaboration will be disappointed, with not much specifically localised apart from a servant remarking “bloody hell” and “bugger”; nevertheless it is an admirably clear reading of the text.

I don’t think I have ever seen anyone look as at home or relaxed on stage as Margot Leicester, whose Mrs Alving practically curls up like a kitten and purrs at Pastor Manders, her frisky youth still all too evident to the straight-laced priest.

George Irving as Pastor Manders, a man who has ever but slenderly known himself let alone anybody else, convincingly portrays the gullible cleric and subtly mines the character’s inadvertent comedy in Act 2. 

Oscar Pearce’s bohemian Oswald makes an astonishing impact on his first entrance, the crumpled white linen suit and red waistcoat a huge contrast with the dark repressed world of his northern homeland, and the character’s gradual decline through the play is deeply touching.

If there is a flaw in this production it is the large table which sits in the middle of the tiny in-the-round space, creating a barrier between the actors as they play out powerful confrontations, dramatic confessions and heartbreaking revelations.  But overall the intimacy of the venue and the intensity of the piece overcome this obstacle to create a unique theatrical experience.

 

Ghosts is on at Bolton Octagon until Saturday 21 November 2009

Tickets: from £9.00

Evenings: Mon-Sat at 7.30pm

Matinees: Fri 30 and Sat 31 October, Mon 2, Wed 11 and Sat 14 Nov @ 2pm

Box Office: 01204 520661

www.octagonbolton.co.uk

 

Special event on Sat 14 November @ 10am - Investigate: Who Needs Translators?

The process of translating plays is investigated by director David Thacker, translator Erik Skuggevik and the actors from Ghosts, alongside playwrights working today and scholars including Brid Andrews of the University of Bolton.

Tickets: £5 for workshop, £15 including matinee ticket