(Susannah Clapp’s article appeared in The Guardian, 11/19.)
Henrik Ibsen is routinely described as the father of realism and the father of modern drama. It is not always easy to test these claims. Most years see several Chekhov plays on stage. It is often surprisingly difficult to find an Ibsen.
This is one reason for being grateful for Richard Eyre, the country’s foremost illuminator of the dramatist. In the past 10 years he has produced what amounts to a boxed Almeida set of Ibsen. He directs his own adaptations, working from literal translations. A flinty Hedda Gabler in 2005 was followed two years ago by a glimmering Ghosts. Now he has staged the later and trickier Little Eyolf. The result is uneven, but the impact is decisive. Eyre reveals the play as a masterly study of how unhappiness corrodes us.
(Read more)
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/29/ibsen-little-eyolf-almeida-observer-review
Stage Voices Publishing for archived posts and sign up for free e-mail updates: http 2015:// www.stagevoices.com/ . If you would like to contribute a review, monologue, or other work related to theatre, please write to Bob Shuman at Bobjshuman@gmail.com.