OUT OF THIS WORLD IBSEN
THERE will be a sense of the supernatural when Ralph Fiennes takes to the Old Vic stage in Henrik Ibsen’s The Master Builder.
The powerful drama, adapted for the Old Vic by David Hare, is a visceral play about Halvard Solness, an architect who creates towering structures. His life begins to unravel when a young woman questions his ideals.
Matthew Warchus — the artistic chief of the Old Vic, who will direct the play — called it ‘a strange mixture of intense domestic drama and allegory’, adding that there are references in the piece to ‘trolls and demons’.
He continued: ‘I’m interested in the collision between naturalistic marriage drama and fairy tale.’
I jokingly asked whether this was his follow on to the Lord Of The Rings musical he directed several years ago.
‘I don’t think there will be trolls or indeed orcs gracing this production,’ he noted sharply.
However, he did observe that like The Master Builder, Lord Of The Rings is a Scandinavian epic. ‘They do have a distant common denominator,’ he allowed.
He added that underscoring composed by Gary Yershon and design by Rob Howell will give audiences a sense ‘that the drama is haunted by supernatural presence; something you feel rather than see’.
This column broke the news about Fiennes ages ago and that he will be joined by Sarah Snook, who will play the woman Solness locks horns with.
Australian-born Snook appears with Kate Winslet in both The Dressmaker and the Steve Jobs films.
Warchus has also cast Broadway star Linda Emond as Solness’s wife. I’ve seen her several times on the New York stage. She was particularly memorable as Linda opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman in Death Of A Salesman. Warchus directed her several years ago in Yasmina Reza’s Life x 3.
James Laurenson, James Dreyfus and Charlie Cameron have also joined the company, which will begin performances at the Old Vic on January 23 and run through to March 19 .
Later, during the ‘Fall’ season, producer Scott Rudin will present the production on Broadway.