Overview
Synopsis
In Richard Eyre’s Olivier-award-winning adaptation of Ibsen’s groundbreaking masterpiece, long-held secrets are revealed, uncomfortable truths are faced, and a troubled family meets a cruel and unavoidable fate. On her estate in rural Norway, Helene Alving lives with the bitter memory of her cruel, philandering late husband. To escape the ghosts that plague her, she decides to tell her son, Oswald, the truth about his outwardly respectable father when Oswald returns home from Paris. However, Oswald has returned home with a secret of his own. After living as a painter in Paris, his health has deteriorated with the effects of long-term venereal disease and wretched Oswald holds himself accountable for his own fate. Aware of Regina’s (Helen’s maid) attachment for him, Oswald hatches a plan to marry her so that she can look after him as he gets progressively worse. However, Helene must reveal two uncomfortable truths that shatter Oswald’s world. Not only is his syphilis inherited from his lecherous father, but Regina is his half-sister. With these secrets out in the open, Regina flees and Oswald quickly declines, begging his mother to end his life while she still can. Hard-hitting, emotionally gripping, and full of moral questions, Richard Eyre’s production strips back Ibsen’s work to it’s most intense form
Editor’s Note: Although it is written in 2 acts, this new adaptation was originally performed in 1 act of 90 minutes, without an interval.
Show Information
- Book
- Henrik Ibsen , Richard Eyre
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 2013
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Period, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- norway, 1890s
- Cast Size
- small
- Licensor
- Dramatists Play Service
- Ideal For
- Small Cast, Star Vehicle Female, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Late Teen, Young Adult Characters
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A play, musical, or opera that has been adapted from a written work.
Socially unconventional, often using artistic expression.
A theatrical movement developed alongside naturalism, which aimed to be more truthful to real life through texts and performances.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher