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★★★★

“this is an extremely sharp interpretation. Funny and chilling, entertaining and thought provoking”

Henrik Ibsen’s nineteenth century drama, “Hedda Gabler” has often been hailed as a masterpiece and described as a female variation of ‘Hamlet’. And like Shakespeare, Ibsen’s works have also been subject to modern interpretations, twists and re-writes. It is an inevitable exercise with a work that is well over a century old; the success of which largely depends on how much of the original essence is retained whilst striking a chord with contemporary audiences. Nina Segal’s “Shooting Hedda Gabler” scores on both counts with an ingenious unfolding of the story on a twenty-first century film set in Norway.

After being offered the title role in a movie of ‘Hedda Gabler’, an American actress grabs the opportunity as an escape route from Hollywood and a scandal involving a violent run-in with the paparazzi. Although quite a success in America, she feels trapped by her celebrity status and perceived lack of artistic credibility. She is privileged but powerless. Arriving in Norway, however, she is merely powerless. The play opens with a quite remarkable scene during which she is introduced to her fellow cast members and director who not only have little time for her status but openly mock it. The tone is set with a mix of observation, satire and biting humour.

Hedda is in a world she wasn’t prepared for. Reality and fiction become blurred. Interestingly we never learn the names of the actors portrayed in this play – only their character names in the movie shoot – a device which further enhances the indistinction. Antonia Thomas, as Hedda Gabler, pitches the right amount of incredulity with a fierce resilience to keep her head above water and, indeed gives as good as she gets. She is immediately up against Henrik, the demanding and Machiavellian director, who demands that the aim is ‘not to seem to be, but to be’. He will go to any lengths to get the shot. Christian Rubeck is a commanding presence as Henrik who runs his studio like an amoral professor conducting a psycho-scientific experiment.

“The fragile humour gives way to tension as the atmosphere becomes increasingly claustrophobic”

It is a very clever and radical interpretation, but we never lose sight of the parallels with Ibsen’s original, aided by the exemplary performances. Joshua James, as the actor playing Hedda’s husband Jørgen, brilliantly mixes the humble resignation of Jørgen’s character with the aloof arrogance of the actor reluctantly playing a role which he feels is beneath him. Matilda Bailes, as Thea, throws in moments of comedy when it transpires she is also the studio’s therapist and intimacy director. Anna Andresen, as Berta the unappreciated AD, tries to hold it all together with an officiousness that often breaks under Henrik’s dictatorial hand. The fragile humour gives way to tension as the atmosphere becomes increasingly claustrophobic, the suspense further mounting when Henrik calculatedly recruits another movie star and real-life ex-lover of Hedda to play her on-screen ex-lover Ejlert (a charismatic Avi Nash who manages to make the character more tragic than perhaps Ibsen even intended).

If it sounds convoluted on the page, it does actually make sense on the stage and it is at times gripping. The undercurrents are captured, too, by Hansjörg Schmidt’s atmospheric lighting which clearly flickers between the reality, and the unreality when the cameras roll. A prior knowledge of Ibsen’s original is, if not absolutely necessary, a very useful requirement. But Segal has created something unique with this adaptation which could act as a stand-alone commentary on certain unfavourable aspects of today’s film industry. I’m not sure how much we are supposed to analyse the text but there are definite messages about the role of feminism in Hollywood and the more contentious topics of male domination, misogyny, manipulation and abuse. Ibsen predates the golden era of Hollywood in which starlets would customarily be under the control of tyrannical moguls. Segal’s version comes high on the wave that has thankfully brought that to account, and she balances these issues well without them pulling focus from what is a very acute piece of writing.

“Shooting Hedda Gabler” is occasionally surreal, the climax of Act Two perhaps a touch too bizarre, with the question of the current AI controversy and the effects of CGI on moviemaking unnecessarily thrown into the mix. It distances us too much from the heart of the story. But otherwise, this is an extremely sharp interpretation. Funny and chilling, entertaining and thought provoking.

Two Character Play

Hampstead Theatre

Reviewed – 27th July 2021

★★★★

“Occasionally melancholic, always mesmerising, totally memorable. A masterpiece of theatre”

“To play with fear is to play with fire. No, worse, much worse, than playing with fire. Fire has limits.”

Tennessee Williams knew the importance of opening lines, and in “The Two Character Play” he captures the essence of what is to come. It is simultaneously reassuring and unsettling. It’s a theme that runs through much of his earlier writing, but in this later work it is much less opaque; we know the flame won’t be held back by the yellowing parchment through which we see it flicker.

In a way Williams was playing with fire. Rather than relying on his critical and popular acclaim he wanted to experiment and expand his writing style. It met with a mixed reception at its world premiere at the Hampstead Theatre, disconcerting critics and audiences. But over half a century later it definitely bites with a sharper resonance than ever before. The timing is perfect. A two-hander, we are introduced to Felice and then his sister Clare. They are both “artists of the theatre. Long prepared for working under unexpected conditions”. They have been abandoned by the rest of the company but are nevertheless determined that the show must go on despite the “eccentricities of the time”. Suffocated by their isolation and afraid to go out, the characters’ only choices are to face each other or to face their demons.

The structure is a play within a play, and Sam Yates’ production has perfectly captured this concept. As Felice and Clare prepare for their performance the houselights remain lit, the lighting rig is at floor level and the space is littered with the props and unassembled pieces of scenery. We don’t quite know when the pre-show ends and the show begins. Just as we are never sure of the shifts between the actors and their characters; whether we are in reality or in the play. Or in the play within the play. The blurred lines are always intentional, reflecting the brother and sister losing their own grip on reality.

Zubin Varla, as Felice, and Kate O’Flynn, as Clare, are outstanding and unforgettable. The chemistry burns and crackles with an enforced intimacy and horrific backstory that keeps them forever entwined. The fire of their performance is fanned by the many refreshing waves of comedy that they bring to the roles. It’s a skill that is rarely seen in theatre and Varla and O’Flynn wield it mercilessly through their wonderful shifts in mood, without diminishing the desperation that motivates their characters.

The second act dips into a darker domain. Lee Curran’s shadowy lighting and Dan Balfour’s surround sound design heighten the mood. A false ending trips us up and unfortunately dispels the magic momentarily as we slip into a flash of Gothic Horror. But the poignancy returns as the siblings (are they the actors or are they the characters they are portraying?) start to re-enact the tragedy that befell their parents.

They are unable to see it through. It is as unresolved as the play itself, and as the couple pull the plug on proceedings they are again alone on the bare stage. Their (imagined?) audience has also abandoned them, while they are imprisoned in the theatre. Too tired to be frightened now, they realise that fear is limited. “Clare, your mind’s going out” whispers Felice. Tennessee Williams was haunted and inspired by his sister Rose who was plagued by mental illness. “You must never make fun of insanity” Rose once reproved her brother “It’s worth than death”. In “The Two Character Play” Felice is left a note by the company that abandoned them: ‘Your sister and you are… insane!’. Perhaps they are, perhaps they aren’t. Varla and O’Flynn portray the characters with a perfect mix of exaggeration and sensitivity of which Williams would be proud. There is no answer really, just as the play has no real conclusion. We can part with reality at times, but we can never part with each other.

SHOOTING HEDDA GABLER at the Rose Theatre Kingston

★★★★

“this is an extremely sharp interpretation. Funny and chilling, entertaining and thought provoking”

“The fragile humour gives way to tension as the atmosphere becomes increasingly claustrophobic”

SHOOTING HEDDA GABLER at the Rose Theatre Kingston

Reviewed on 4th October 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Andy Paradise

Top rated shows in September

Shooting Hedda Gabler

Shooting Hedda Gabler

Hampstead Theatre

Reviewed – 27th July 2021

★★★★

“Occasionally melancholic, always mesmerising, totally memorable. A masterpiece of theatre”

“To play with fear is to play with fire. No, worse, much worse, than playing with fire. Fire has limits.”

Occasionally melancholic, always mesmerising, totally memorable. A masterpiece of theatre.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Marc Brenner

Two Character Play

Hampstead Theatre until 28th August

Reviewed by Jonathan this year: