STILL BORED, STILL BITTER
ONE of theatre’s most iconic and fascinating heroines returns in Cordelia Lynn’s re-telling of Ibsen’s classic Hedda Gabler. It’s set 30 years later than the original, and a subtle title tweak - this version is called Hedda Tesman, the character’s married name - reflects the fact that we’re seeing the same woman after three decades of married life.
But it’s not that relationship that takes centre stage. Tesman might be 30 years older than she appears in the original play, but despite living what appears to have been a good life, she’s still bitter and she’s still bored.
All comes to a head when her grown-up estranged daughter Thea (Natalie Simpson) turns up asking for help. Things spiral out of control from there towards a stunning and emotional climax.
The title role in this version – produced jointly by Chichester Festival Theatre, Headlong and The Lowry and directed by Holly Race Roughan – is taken by Haydn Gwynne, who played the part in Ibsen’s original 30 years ago at the Bolton Octagon.
We asked her why she thought Ibsen’s play was still making waves after all this time.
“It is extraordinary, Ibsen feels so relevant,” she said. “He’s very interested in the position of women – of course he’s writing from a 19th Century viewpoint. But it’s amazing how even if you do things very specifically within their period, they still do speak very strongly to us today.”
So what is it about Hedda’s character that interests people?
“Ibsen writes her unapologetically and I think that is part of the appeal.
“Why do we want to watch this woman? What she does is very difficult to forgive and yet we are fascinated – fascinated and appalled perhaps, but fascinated by her.
“In the original, hopefully we understand where these impulses come from, even though we might not approve of them.
“The challenge we have, is how do we make Hedda’s behaviour understandable now?
“In our version, she is a much older woman who’s been in the wrong marriage for thirty years – she was an academic, but dropped out when she had a baby – probably suffered from Post Natal depression -then blink, you wake up and where did the last 25 years go?
“I think people will relate to that; it’s a transitional age where there’s a lot more of your life behind you. The opportunities to reinvent yourself don’t look very easy at 60, as they do at 30, 40 or even 50. She’s trapped by the corner she’s backed herself into over a very long time.”
Having played the original Hedda Gabler, what excited Haydn about Hedda Tesman and Cordelia Lynn’s new interpretation of the role and the play?
“It’s not simply an adaptation – it’s a play in its own right. Hedda Gabler as originally written is one of the great, challenging roles.
“At first, I thought this was a kind of sequel. But when I started reading it, I realised that we’re reimagining Hedda as a much older woman, having been married to George Tesman for thirty years, and more or less in the present.
“What came off the page very quickly was the quality of Cordelia’s writing and what she’s tried to do in terms of tracking the Ibsen quite closely. She is prepared to go somewhere very dark and strange but also I think there’s quite a lot of humour and wit there as well.”
And do people need to have seen Hedda Gabler to fully appreciate Hedda Tesman?
“You categorically do not need to know the original play at all. If people do know Hedda Gabler they’ll notice the shifts that have been made. I think they’ll be intrigued.”
The Lowry / thelowry.com / 0343 208 6000 / Thursday to Saturday, October 19 / £24.50-£29.50