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'Hedda Gabler' by Henrik Ibsen. A New Version by Patrick Marber. From a Literal Translation by Karin and Ann Bamborough

Now on stage until September 28 at the Tom Patterson Theatre at the Stratford Festival

Credit: David Hou. Pictured: Tom McCamus and Sara Topham

Joe Szekeres

‘A complex and intriguing reimagined theatre classic. The performance continues to haunt for a bona fide performance of character depth by Sara Topham.”

In this haunting performance of a reimagined theatre classic, Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler (Sara Topham) is not just an ordinary woman.

She has returned from her honeymoon with her husband, Jorgen Tesman (Gordon S. Miller). She is already bored with the middle-class life into which she has married. Tesman is an accomplished academic with the hopeful promise of full professorship. If Tesman is aware of his new wife’s unhappiness (or if he isn’t), he continues doting on his Aunt Juliana (Bola Aiyeola), who helped to raise her nephew and support him financially.

Tesman also learns that Eilert Lovborg (Brad Hodder) is in the running for the same professorship position at the university. A recovered alcoholic, Lovborg has written a celebrated book. Tesman invites Lovborg, a possible rival, to the house for a visit. The latter ‘promises’ the former that he has no interest in an academic career as a professor nor pursuing it. Yet Lovborg also has a past about him as the story unfolds. He and Hedda were lovers. Lovborg is also involved with Thea Elvsted (Joella Crichton), who recently left her husband to be with him.

Moreover, there is Judge Brack (Tom McCamus), whose connection to the other characters is part of the intrigue that needs to be experienced in the theatre. The housekeeper Bertha (Kim Horsman) brings much-needed comic relief in a top-heavy dramatic piece.

It’s a small seven-member cast. Would the Studio Theatre not have served as a more advantageous choice for its intimate performance space of this production?

I don't see it this way.

For one, the Patterson showcases the grandiose nature of the house to which Hedda is brought back after her honeymoon. Visually, director Molly Atkinson moves the characters around calculatedly on Lorenzo Savoini’s bare-bones set design, helping to keep the focus on the characters and their responses. A chaise lounge centre stage becomes a focal point for intimate conversations between Hedda and Lovborg. There is a fireplace upstage with various mantled bric-a-brac.

Keeping the action on the cavernous Patterson theatre stage highlights these calculated chess moves from vantage points in the auditorium. Hearing the voices from the stage magnifies even more just how large the house is and how frustrated, power-hungry and powerless Hedda must feel in her world (according to Atkinson’s Director’s Note).

The dark costumes, including suit coats and heavy dresses Savoini selected, also reinforce how suffocated Hedda must have felt upon returning to the house. Kaileigh Krysztofiak’s shadowy dark lighting at the top of the show reveals something haunting might be taking place.

This is my first time seeing Ibsen’s ‘Hedda Gabler.’ This Stratford production is a new version by Patrick Marber. For this review, I’m basing my comments on what I would have learned about the role of women in this genre during my undergraduate years.

Molly Atkinson begins her Programme Director’s Note with a statement from Ibsen that caught my eye:

“Find out who you are.”

In the context of Ibsen’s play, Hedda Gabler does not fit into the definition of a woman. Upon marriage, a woman would have adjusted immediately and submitted to her husband, their children, and society. Their needs and wants would never have been considered.

The fact that Hedda states she’s bored at the top of the show indicates who she is—she’s looking for self-fulfillment. She didn’t want to live the code society dictated to her then. This is a salient point to remember about the context of the play. Women would never have behaved in this manner.

Molly Atkinson’s direction thoughtfully increases the dramatic tension in the first Act with the sometimes subtle and challenging conversations between the characters. The first act takes some time to get the plot action going as there is a great deal of narration when the characters are introduced. It’s the second act where the story takes wings and leads to a conclusion I did not see coming. Neither did some behind me when I heard gasps behind me.

Sara Topham is top-class in her performance as the enigmatically mysterious Hedda Gabler. She’s gutsy. She’s sly, especially in her Act One conversation with her former lover, Lovborg. Hedda ensures Tesman does not see her and Lovborg conversing. Hedda also knows how to ensure she’s free from accusations or blame, especially regarding the item Tesman brings home one night after he, Brack and Lovborg go on what is supposed to be a men’s evening late-night conversation about academics, which turns into a drinking binge. Topham is magical and frightening to watch what she does with the item. It’s bold and rash, but that’s how the character operates. She’s constantly manoeuvering and plotting.

Gordon S. Miller’s Tesman is that dutiful husband he wants to be. But Miller’s performance takes Tesman to a deeper and more curious level. Did the bridegroom truly understand what he was getting into regarding marriage and putting his wife first? I don’t think so, especially in how he seems to put Juliana before Hedda. Bola Aiyeola’s Juliana knows how to needle Tesman aptly when she wants the attention on her rather than a husband ensuring his wife’s needs are met. When news about another aunt emerges in the second act, Miller’s Tesman responds in a way that seems to applaud Hedda’s ever-changing erratic behaviour.

Brad Hodder’s rugged facial features, stature and height, are why Hedda and Thea Elvsted (Joella Crichton) are drawn to Lovborg. Hodder knowingly and effectively plays up these qualities in his emotional toying with both women. Lovborg’s relationship with Hedda remains highly and sexually charged.

Lovborg’s relationship with Thea is the opposite of what he feels for the title character. Thea sees Lovborg chivalrously, who has come to rescue her from a loveless marriage. Crichton’s Thea is sweet, but there are moments in the second act where I had difficulty believing it was genuine reality. There are times when Crichton is not keeping up with the emotional intensity of the others and merely says the words without the crispness needed.

Tom McCamus commands the stage as Judge Brack. It’s interesting to note how similar Brack and Hedda are in characterization. While Brack brings news of Tesman’s possible professorship in Act 1, it seems probable that the judge might be able to make this appointment happen. McCamus exudes a strong sense of confidence in both his dress and deportment. This behaviour is precisely what Hedda likes and sees. The back-and-forth conversational banter between McCamus and Topham becomes rich in nuance and meaning. It’s an actor’s dream to watch these two in action.

And Another Thought: In her Director's Note, Atkinson writes she believes theatre asks us to look at ourselves...theatre demands authenticity in ourselves.

This 'Hedda' does just that.

Running time: approximately two hours and 15 minutes with one interval.
‘Hedda Gabler’ runs until September 28 at the Tom Patterson Theatre, 111 Lakeside Drive, Stratford For tickets: stratfordfestival.ca or call 1-800-567-1600.

THE STRATFORD FESTIVAL presents
HEDDA GABLER by Henrik Ibsen
A New Version by Patrick Marber
From a Literal Translation by Karin and Ann Bamborough
Directed by Molly Atkinson
Set and Costume Design: Lorenzo Savoini
Lighting Designer: Kaileigh Krysztofial
Composer and Sound Designer: Mishelle Cuttler
Fight Director: Anita Nittoly

Performers: Kim Horsman, Bola Aiyeola, Gordon S. Miller, Sara Topham, Joella Crichton, Tom McCamus, Brad Hodder

Marble Surface

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