Shooting Hedda Gabler

Unsettling Intensity

Shooting Hedda Gabler

by Nina Segal, after Henrik Ibsen

Rose Original and The Norwegian Ibsen Company at The Rose Theatre, Kingston until 21^st October

Review by Brent Muirhouse

Entering the warmth of The Rose Theatre, in Nina Segal’s modern day reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic as Shooting Hedda Gabler, we are instantly transported to a scene as visually striking as it is emotionally haunting and cold.  The play’s title, indicative of its multilayered nature, is a double meaning referring to the tragic fate of some in Ibsen’s original, and that the present setting is on set at a film studio, where an adaptation of the play is being made into a motion picture, featuring a former child acting star and an intense self-described auteur director.

Shooting Hedda Gabler embraces the starkness of the modern world more so than the depths of the frozen Oslo winter, immersing the audience in a sterile white two-floored studio, fittingly not dissimilar to the dystopian-inspired design of the early noughties Big Brother House set, that transforms the play into a psychological thriller.  The stage, with its double level, casts an eerie sense of foreboding and unease, with actors almost always remaining on stage in the background, jarringly lingering.  Indeed it is not unlike the panopticon of a hinged doll’s house, a most appropriate (whether intended or not) nod to Ibsen’s most famous piece.

All of the cast are trapped in within their roles in the film as much as they are the isolated Norwegian countryside, and despite the apparent distance to other human beings outside, no one can escape the suffocating grip of societal expectations.  This clever storytelling device essentially gives views two performances in one – the characters in and outside the metadrama of a film within a play.  Under Jeff James’ direction, the centre of the stage feels like the most precarious of perches, where no character is truly safe, mirroring the emotional precariousness of their lives away from the camera, as well as the pressure of the spotlight.

In the titular role, Antonia Thomas’ portrayal of Hedda is outstanding, an enigmatic presence, on stage for almost every minute, anchoring the narrative as flowing sentences punctuated by the stark set and dissonant soundtrack.  Avi Nash as ex-lover Ejlert, Christian Rubeck as the director Henrik and Anna Andresen as First AD Berta deliver performances that are haunting in different ways, adding depth to the unfolding tragedy, with moments of comic delivery from Matilda Bailes as Thea and Joshua James as Jorgen (filled with bleak undertones, of course).

Underlying Shooting Hedda Gabler as an original success in its own right is the incredibly disarming lighting design and soundscape.  A monotone, repeating hum permeates the play like an unsettling crisis of confidence, an ever-present reminder of the characters’ internal struggles.  It’s a relentless undercurrent that burrows deep into the audience’s psyche, intensifying the tension with each passing moment.  Adding further, the juxtaposition of this eerie hum with brashness of upbeat modern tracks befitting of the Ministry of Sound dance floor, seemingly out of place in the context of the play, served to emphasise the characters’ descent into, and dwelling within, emotional chaos.  One was often unsure of what was to happen next, but the skill of the sound waves and light rays alone, in creating at times a literal headache’s worth of drama, was something to behold.

Shooting Hedda Gabler is, in one word, intense.  In more, it’s a grand, unsettling exploration and unravelling of the human psyche.  The scarcity of black comedy leaves a psychological drama, immersing the audience in a world where a darkness of spirit totally dominates any lighter moments of laughter.  As the characters confront the societal pressures and personal demons of today in tandem with those of the distant past, the weaving of this parallel is a testament to the power of modern reinterpretations in the world of theatre.  The howl and the hum of this Nordic canvas continued to haunt me, as I stepped out to the comparably welcoming beeps and buzzes under the streetlights of suburbia.

Brent Muirhouse, October 2023

Photography by Andy Paradise