GHOSTS
Lyric Hammersmith
★★★★★
“A breathtaking new adaptation that should not be missed”
As Gary Owen mentions, adapting a classic play is a challenging process. Numerous things need to be considered, the time the play was originally written, the audience the specific production is destined for, to change or not to change significant plot points and if you do, how far can you take it. A classic play, like Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts originally written in 1881, has survived through time for a reason and some adapters are hesitant to tamper with that. This production, adapted by Owen and skilfully directed by Rachel O’Riordan, is the perfect example that sometimes, when you do decide to make bold changes, it can have the best result imaginable.
Helena decides to use her and her late husband’s money to build a new children’s hospital, which is about to open. But when certain accusations come out regarding his behaviour, rumours start to spread and the trustees feel the need to separate themselves from him. And when Helena’s son, Oz, visits the family home and gets involved with his childhood friend Reggie, dark secrets that have been kept hidden creep out and Helena needs to face the true legacy her late husband has left her.
The whole cast do much more than pull their weight. Their commitment, vast emotional range and easiness in finding the essence of each role elevate the story. In Helena, Victoria Smurfit, we see a survivor, a strong but also broken woman who tries to protect her son from the truth at all costs. The facade of the goddess, always in control and untouchable, gives way to trauma and pain, in a most natural and heartbroken manner. Patricia Allison (Reggie), Rhashan Stone (Andersen) and Deka Walmsley (Jacob) help develop the concept of duality throughout the show, showing that the truth always has two versions and that being rich and poor is essentially two sides of the same coin. Callum Scott Howells as the tortured and lost son Oz is the highlight of the evening. His complicated relationship with his parents has created a sweet self consciousness, a need to be accepted and loved exactly as he is. He is aware that something is rotten in this family and holds on to it tight. That is the only way he knows how to exist: in the shadow of what came before him, because that’s often easier than forging a path of one’s own.
Ghosts is a marvellous continuation in Owen and O’Riordan’s already existing series of collaborations. The text takes us on a rollercoaster ride with its wit, depth, twists and play between absolute horror and tender sympathy. Under a direction that focuses on raw action and reaction in a powerful and modern context, a lot of the original play’s traits change. But the theme of the past and the trouble of the young when carrying the burden of what came before them is still there, resonating in a time when history seems to be dangerously close to repeating itself.
Commendation needs to be given to the set design (Merle Hensel). A borderline claustrophobic and unnaturally simple living room with pictures of a man’s back of the head from different angles plastered all over the walls give us the sense that this isn’t a home and never has been. The man on the black and white pictures could be the deceased father himself, out of Helena and Oz’s life, but still very much a presence that impacts them. Sound design and music (Donato Wharton and Simon Slater) are sharp, uncomfortable, perfectly complementing the darkness and shocking revelations the characters are faced with.
A breathtaking new adaptation that should not be missed, Ghosts demonstrates how classics can work spectacularly for different times and ages without any compromise.
GHOSTS
Lyric Hammersmith
Reviewed on 16th April 2025
by Stephanie Christodoulidou
Photography by Helen Murray
Previously reviewed at this venue:
PLAY ON! | ★★★★★ | January 2025
OTHELLO | ★★★★ | January 2023
