THE STORY OF PEER GYNT
The Coronet Theatre
★★★★
“a compelling evening”
Is Peer Gynt a play or a poem? When Henrik Ibsen first published his five-act verse drama, Peer Gynt attracted widespread criticism from contemporary figures for its complete disregard of conventional stagecraft and its blend of fantasy and realism. Defending his work, particularly from the hostility of theatre critic Clemens Petersen, Ibsen declared that it ‘is poetry; and if it isn’t, it will become such’.
In the hands of Kåre Conradi, there can be no doubt. He breaks a few conventions himself in his rendition of Peer Gynt’s story, delivering it partly as narrative, partly as lecture, partly in English and partly in his native Norwegian. But what starts as a gentle folk tale of everyday life and the journey of a worthless nobody – albeit with a gift for seducing women – turns into a tense saga that at its heart addresses the eternal question of being and self.
Conradi is something of a polymath in the dramatic world. He is a celebrated stage, screen and television actor, and the founder and artistic director of the Norwegian Ibsen Company. A graduate of the Norwegian Theatre Academy and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), he is familiar with Shakespeare as much as Ibsen. He appeared in the TV series Shetland, and stars in the historical comedy Norsemen, on Netflix. For this evening, he took on the roles of producer, writer/adapter and performer.
Peer Gynt the person is hard to like. He is feckless and reckless. He is an egotist with charm and ambition, but doesn’t want to work hard. He uses women in a way that might have them joining them “MeToo” movement these days. He abandons his poor mother and runs away to, notably, Arabia, when life gets a bit too hot for him in Norway. When he returns as an old man, he finally comes face to face with himself in a fantasy during which he is being brought to account for his life. But through all this, he has retained the adoration of the long suffering Solveig. It is she in the end who answers the questions of self and rescues him from eternal perdition.
But he is also an ‘Everyman’ in whom we might see reflections of ourselves. Conradi first encountered Peer Gynt aged 17 and over the years has developed a deep connection to the character. He brings him to us in a monologue on a simple spotlit stage lasting just over an hour. During this time he switches effortlessly from storyteller to actor; sometimes, in the latter persona passionately proclaiming his justification for just ‘being himself’; sometimes skilfully lacing together the characters of the story. Then, as narrator, he will make a humorous aside aimed at a 21st century audience. He avoids declamation (at one moment he catches himself overacting) and he drops suddenly into a linguistic to and fro – often, it was hard to tell whether he was talking in English or Norwegian.
What began as – potentially – a challenging hour, soon became a compelling evening, thanks to Conradi’s gifts. This was a bravura performance, with poetry at its core.
THE STORY OF PEER GYNT
The Coronet Theatre
Reviewed on 19th February 2026
by Louise Sibley
