{"id":105953,"date":"2024-07-15T11:43:19","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T15:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=105953"},"modified":"2024-07-15T14:00:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T18:00:02","slug":"scrutiny-stratfords-hedda-gabler-passionless-disappointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/07\/15\/scrutiny-stratfords-hedda-gabler-passionless-disappointment\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Stratford\u2019s Hedda Gabler Is A Passionless Disappointment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Joella
Joella Crichton as Mrs. Elvsted (right) with Sara Topham as Hedda in\u00a0Hedda Gabler at the Stratford Festival 2024 (Photo: David Hou)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stratford Festival 2024\/Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Patrick Marber (from a literal translation by Karin and Ann Bamborough), directed by Molly Atkinson, Tom Patterson Theatre, closes Sept. 28. Tickets here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Stratford production of Ibsen\u2019s 1891 masterpiece, Hedda Gabler, is, in a word, a disappointment.<\/p>\n

The actors, which include some of Stratford\u2019s best, say their lines as if it is a cold reading in a rehearsal hall. It is almost as if director Molly Atkinson and her cast deliberately decided to exclude any dramatic flavour, thus allowing the playwright to carry the production, both text and subtext, all alone, with the actors being mere mouthpieces. The play as presented is a blank canvas that does not make for stirring theatre.<\/p>\n

Ibsen was a social critic who brought realism to the stage, particularly in his savage portrayal of middle class society. Today we would call the great Norwegian writer a feminist. Hedda Gabler is one of his finest creations \u2014 a complicated character whose life has been blighted by societal conventions. She craves power and influence, in fact, she feels entitled to it \u2014 she is the General\u2019s daughter after all \u2014 but is trapped in the role of wife and future mother. Ibsen intentionally called his play Hedda Gabler, not Hedda Tesman, her married name.<\/p>\n

The alluring Hedda (Sarah Topham) has married academic Jorgen Tesman (Gordon S. Miller) because she is poor and ageing, leaving her trapped in a loveless relationship. For his part, the kindly but obtuse Tesman is enthralled by his wife and can\u2019t believe his luck at catching the belle of the ball for his own. Hedda\u2019s unhappiness and frustration manifest themselves in a streak of cruelty.<\/p>\n

\"Sara
Sara Topham as Hedda in\u00a0Hedda Gabler at the Stratford Festival 2024 (Photo: David Hou)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hedda also has to contend with the well-meaning but suffocating ministrations of Tesman\u2019s beloved Aunt Julie (Bola Aiyeola) who raised him. Then there\u2019s the fawning maid Bertha (Kim Horsman), a former employee of Juliana\u2019s who has been foisted upon the Tesman household.<\/p>\n

Hedda\u2019s jealousy is aroused by the arrival of an old schoolmate, Thea Elvsted (Joella Crichton) who has left her loveless marriage to follow the brilliant Eilert Lovborg (Brad Hodder), a former tutor to her step-children. Under Mrs. Elvsted\u2019s influence, Lovborg has given up his dissolute, alcohol-infused lifestyle to write his magnum opus with her help. Lovborg, however, was a former lover of Hedda\u2019s, and she is determined to gain control over him again.<\/p>\n

One of Ibsen\u2019s most interesting characters is the wily Judge Brack (Tom McCamus). By loaning money to the Tesman family to support the rich lifestyle that Hedda craves, they are in his debt. He also wants to control Hedda because he sees right through her facade, and thus, becomes her serious adversary.<\/p>\n

The interplay between these characters is fraught with high drama above and below the surface. Hormones rage, tensions mount, and the cauldron of emotions bubbles over as Hedda feels increasingly trapped. Her only outlet for her strength of character is her gaining power over Lovborg.<\/p>\n

\"Gordon
Gordon S. Miller as Tesman and Joella Crichton as Mrs. Elvsted with Tom McCamus as Judge Brack and Sara Topham as Hedda in Hedda Gabler at the Stratford Festival 2024 (Photo: David Hou)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sadly, none of this plays out on the stage rendering a hollow shell of a production.<\/p>\n

In her 15 years at Stratford, Topham has paid her dues and deserves to win top roles. Hedda Gabler should have been the plum of plums, but this performance does nothing to show off her many talents. The biggest disappointment is McCamus\u2019 Judge Brack. Never once do you see the character\u2019s cynicism, his arrogance, his self-conceit, and most of all, his hidden menace. As for everyone else, they are cyphers.<\/p>\n

Everything about this Hedda Gabler is leaden, from Lorenzo Savoini\u2019s dark set and costumes, to Kaileigh Krysztofiak\u2019s moody lighting, and Mishelle Cuttler\u2019s somber music \u2014 all adding to the deadness of the production as a whole.<\/p>\n

The adaption is by Patrick Marber, a well-known British playwright and director, who has produced a clean, terse version of Ibsen\u2019s text. There is no fault in the script per se \u2014 only in the execution.<\/p>\n

In fact, there is more passion in director Atkinson\u2019s program notes than makes it to the stage.<\/p>\n

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The Stratford Festival production of Ibsen\u2019s 1891 masterpiece, Hedda Gabler, is, in a word, a disappointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":105955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,3693,52,59,62],"tags":[41334,3149],"yst_prominent_words":[21268],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Copy-of-REVIEW-47.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-ryV","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105953"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105962,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105953\/revisions\/105962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105953"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=105953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}