Revu Hedda Gabler

“Hedda Gabler”

It’s seventh week, and there are no less than seven OUDS shows happening. Only last year, I remember performing on certain weeks when we would be practically the only production going on. As much as I’m encouraged by the number of groups creating their own theatre, there are some drawbacks to this massive expansion, as everyone has to compete for both actors (I know some directors have recently struggled for a good selection of auditionees) and audiences. But amongst this week's dizzying amount of exciting theatre, I know I cannot miss Tiptoe Productions' (the company of Gilon Fox and Ollie Gillam) production of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler.

Ibsen's much-adapted drama follows Hedda (Georgina Cooper), a manipulative socialite recently married to the bumbling George Tesman (Sam Gosmore). Bored of her life and her husband, she interferes in the affairs of her former lover and recovering alcoholic Eilert Lövborg (Rohan Joshi), getting between him and Thea Elvsted (Thalia Kermisch), a young woman who has evidently fallen in love with him. Elaborate schemes develop and end in disaster, and Hedda's living room eventually becomes the epicentre of tragedy. In Fox and Gillam's modern adaptation (set along the Thames), Tesman and Lövberg are political thinkers competing for the role of Minister, rather than academics vying for a professorship (as in Ibsen's original script). The change has a distinct effect - this is a world where one's public image means everything, and every scandal has dire consequences.

Fox and Gillam's production very much captures the feeling of a 1960s television play, due to a combination of heightened performances, brief old-fashioned musical interludes, and leisurely-paced transitions between scenes of domestic conversation - it would not feel out of place if the whole thing were in grainy black and white. This Wednesday Play atmosphere works well for Tiptoe: it makes a somewhat complex plot easy to follow, feels somehow refreshing, and perfectly suits Ibsen's Realist style.

There are a few characteristics of the television play that we could afford to lose here, though. Scene changes are quite slow and seem somewhat confused (at one point in the second act, Cooper goes on and offstage three times in the space of about twenty seconds, which Laura Boyd's Juliana apparently doesn't notice). There are also a few moments when actors arrive onstage somewhat late, resulting in more than a little awkward "dead air".

Performances, though, are broadly clear and strong, although some are definitely more confident than others. There is an overall issue with pace (which ties to the slightly sluggish entrances), as the action is slowed down a little too much due to lines coming late on their cues. When Fox is onstage himself, he has a remarkable energy which allows him to attack every scene with vocal and physical vigour. This cast, I think, would be massively benefitted from an injection of this signature Fox-ian energy. Still, they are always inhabiting vividly-drawn and distinct characters, which each fulfil their respective roles with total clarity.

Cooper herself commands attention well in a confident lead performance which is at some points deeply compelling. She is absolutely leaning into and heightening Hedda's cruelty and borderline-sociopathic attitudes, but never to the extent that it becomes unpleasant to watch her, and in a few key moments we glimpse much deeper realities to the character. Joshi is also enthralling as he shows us different sides of Eilert, from respectable to wild and desperate. These two are reuniting onstage after Enron in February, and their slick chemistry is as evident tonight as it was then. Their impassioned exchanges are undoubtedly the most gripping sequences of the production.

Samuel Gosmore is also a highlight as Tesman, whom he imbues entirely with a quality somewhere between Starmer and Johnson. Every inch a politician, Hedda's spineless husband perfectly dances between excitable friendliness and pathetic cluelessness, and Gosmore draws a healthy dosage of laughs throughout. Although he replicates some of the stagecraft issues that somewhat hindered him in In Praise of Love (a bit of distracting feet-shuffling and hiding his face from the audience), he is thoroughly entertaining to watch, and his improvisatory-style facial expressions and vocal quirks result in an incredibly vivid character.

Finally, on the design side, I must mention Clara Woodhead's pitch-perfect costume design, which brings Gabler firmly into a modern context and does much to distinguish every character. Hedda herself is dressed in a sleek black blouse and skirt which immediately marks her out as stylish, solemn, and disposed to luxury. This presents an effective contrast with Juliana, whose floral dress and somewhat gaudy fascinator conveys the effort she feels she must exert to try and fit in with her middle-class hostess. Also notable is an impressive brown pinstripe suit for Ezana Betru's Judge Brack, which emphasizes simultaneously his considerable wealth (and, implicitly, political or judicial power), and his suave demeanour.

In many ways Tiptoe's production of an Ibsen classic is a breath of fresh air. This is a show deliberately stripped back in order to let its performers and plot do most of the work, never straying from Ibsen's characteristic Realism. Whilst everyone and their mum in OUDS is hard at work writing and announcing their new Existentialist two-hander ("inspired by Waiting for Godot" - shocker), Fox and Gillam have given us a clear retelling of a classic story (though made newly relevant by some small adaptations), and I find myself grateful for it.

3.5/5

Review by George Loynes

The link to George Loynes’s review blog is: https://roomwithreviewblog.blogspot.com/?m=1&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadKaD9DWn-5mwBnPczPWh3KXF0Wm5MTE_D9WbXEiWAbpuhhg9yNdnyYWKaYSg_aem_MX4-paKRuQoHXi7vgFXpPw

“Hedda Gabler”