Friday 26 February 2010

Hedda Gabler

Rosamund Pike is simply superb as an icily beautiful and statuesque Hedda Gabler in the Bath Theatre Royal revival of Ibsen's story of the frustrated woman whose scheming has shocking and tragic consequences. Pike's chilling portrayal brings out the demon that Ibsen saw in Hedda to full effect, while being ably supported by Tim McInnerny in a great performance as the louche Judge Brack. The combination of tragic menace, shocking indiscretion and frustrated hestitation is wonderfully captured in Adrian Noble's production of a very modern translation by Michael Meyer. Other cast members, including Anna Carteret as Auntie Ju-Ju and Robert Glennister as Hedda's adoring but boring husband Tesman, make for a bracing evening's entertainment. It is a sure-fire hit when in reaches the West End.

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