Hedda Gabler
At Roedde House Museum until March 31
Tickets: 604-689-0926, firehallartscentre.ca
If the staging of this Henrik Ibsen play were any more intimate, director Bob Frazer might have handed me the script on the spot and asked me to read the part of old fussbudget Aunt Julie. Its a good thing he didnt because in Hedda and George Gablers beautifully appointed drawing room, a.k.a. the Roedde House Museum (located at 1415 Barclay St. and built in 1893 by famous architect Francis Rattenbury), I was decidedly underdressed in jeans and turtleneck sweater.
Aunt Julie and the Gablers maid Berte have been cut and the portrait of General Gabler, (Heddas deceased father) that usually dominates the set of this play, is nowhere to be seen. And yet, because of the intimacy and very finely drawn characters by Frazers outstanding cast of five, this is certainly one of the most interesting Hedda Gablers Ive seen.
The story, of course, is about Hedda Gabler (Anna Cummer) who, had she been born in the 20th or 21st century, might have ended up Minister of Defense or, at least, a warrior in the corporate world. But born in the last half of the 19th century and trapped in a marriage to well meaning but uninspired academic George Tesman (Craig Erickson), Hedda is bored to death in their house on the outskirts of what is now Oslo. The house, which they could ill-afford, was made available to them through the financial aid of Tesmans friend Judge Brack (Derek Metz) and so the Tesmans are indebted to Bracka situation that Hedda finds intolerable. Brack hangs around the house, waiting for the opportunity to press his advantage with Hedda, waiting, as Hedda says, to be cock of the house.
When Eilert Lovborg (Aslam Husain), a good companion but never quite a lover of Heddas, returns to Oslo and becomes the tutor of the step-children of Heddas old school friend Thea (Dawn Petten), everything changes.
Ibsen purists may not welcome the much more overt sexual attraction between Lovborg and Hedda, but it doesnt seem amiss in this production with these two young actors. When Lovborg, ostensibly looking through a photo album with Hedda, leans in and touches her hand, its like an electric current runs through Husain and Cummer. The erotic tension is palpable and it works.
Throughout, Cummer is like a tightly wound violin string, ready to snap at any moment. One moment shes feigning friendship, smiling and drawing Thea into her parlour like a spider with a fly; the next, with eyes glittering, shes glacial. Smoothing down her elegant grey silk gown, Cummer seems to be physically trying to contain Heddas fury with her bare hands.
And who wouldnt be furious married to Ericksons Tesman with his constant, Hmm? at the end of every sentence and his wimpy, myopic presence.
And why wouldnt Hedda be furiously envious of Thea, Lovborgs muse for what promises to be a revolutionary treatise on the future? Petten brings a desperate vulnerability to Thea who is so openly drawn to Lovborg that it must drive self-contained Hedda mad.
Like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Metz (as Judge Brack) lurks. Oily, sniffing around Hedda, Metz is a smiling predator in elegant evening attire.
Director Frazer quickly shuffles the audience between the parlour and the dining room where a limited number of chairs are available. Pared down to two hours, the seating arrangement isnt an issue.
Although known as the father of Realism, Ibsen never did completely shake off the remnants of melodrama, the prevailing theatrical form of the period. As the adage goes, when there is a gun onstage, someone is going to use it. Frazer adds a chilling twist to what happens after the pistol is fired. With a limit of only 20 viewers for each performance, only 300 people will see how Frazer brings down the curtain. It sent shivers up my spine.
Hedda Gabler's cast and audience get cozy with one another http://www.vancourier.com/entertainment/Hedda+Gabler+cast+audience+cozy+with
+another/6276038/story.html
