Hedda Gabler (DE)
Through manipulation and lies, it takes Hedda precisely 24 hours to tear down a whole world dominated by career ambition and the fear of social degradation.
Directed by Thomas Ostermeier / Schaubühne am Lehniner
But she, too, is part of the system, and ends up as a target of her own destruction: she can’t free herself from the prison she has built around herself without going under herself.
An atrium house. Large glass windows. Designer furniture. Schaubühne moves Hedda Gabler to our present day. Director Thomas Ostermeier turns Ibsen’s characters into people of today, recognisable and timeless, believable and timeless.
Thomas Ostermaier has already established himself as one of Europe’s leading theatre directors, and his Nora was a guest feature at the very exclusive Next Wave Festival the the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York. He has this to say about Hedda Gabler: “People today share something of the mentality of Ibsen’s time: the fear of falling down the social ladder, of poverty and powerlessness. I think we are heading into a new, very conservative period, controlled by the same fears as in the 19th century. This is the shock I want the audience to feel.”
Cast: Jørgen Tesman – Lars Eidinger, Hedda Tesman – Katharina Schüttler, Miss Juliane Tesman – Lore Stefanek, Mrs Elvestad – Annedore Bauer, Captain, Brack – Jörg Hartmann, Eilert Løvborg – Kay Bartholomäus Schulze.
Director: Thomas Ostermeier. Scenography: Jan Pappelbaum. Costume design: Nina Wetzel. Music: Malte Beckenbach. Dramaturgy: Marius von Mayenburg. Video: Sebastian Dupouey. Lighting design: Erich Schneider. Translated by Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel.