Hedda Gabler (SE)
This production, with a cast of Swedish stars directed by the Norwegian Alexander Mørk-Eidem, was highly acclaimed by the critics.
Directed by Alexander Mørk-Eidem / Stockholm Stadsteater
Swedish newspapers were full of praise for this production of Hedda Gabler after the première at Stockholm Stadsteater in the spring. There was acclaim for both the cast and the Norwegian stage director Alexander Mørk-Eidem for their interpretation of Ibsen’s script. Leif Zern, the theatre critic in Dagens Nyheter, wrote that it is rare to see an empty stage so full of magic. And in Svenska Dagbladet, Lars Ring wrote among other things that this was a vitally intense, intelligent production of Hedda Gabler.
Respected director
The Norwegian Alexander Mørk-Eidem (37) has made a name for himself in recent years as one of the most interesting Scandinavian theatre producers of his generation. Earlier this year he was responsible for the opening performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet on the new main stage at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. About putting on Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in Stockholm, he says:
“The script of Hedda Gabler is so good that we do not need to try to be entertaining or do anything special. The actors and the script are quite sufficient. It feels good when the job is that simple.
I wanted to direct this play, because it deals with my generation. It is about us, when we have started a family and bought a home, and want to make something out of our lives. Are we satisfied? Is it ever possible as a human being to be completely satisfied? Is it even acceptable? Recognition is my approach to the script. Then Ibsen tightens things up, and sharpens the point of the situation, and it becomes something greater,” says Mr. Mørk-Eidem, who has a fine track record from theatres in both Norway and Sweden, where he has lived for several years.
Cast: Helena af Sandeberg (Hedda Tesman), Andreas Kundler (Jørgen Tesman), Frida Hallgren (Thea Elvsted), Gerhard Hoberstorfer (Advokat Brack), Magnus Krepper (Ejlert Løvborg). Adaptation, direction and sets: Alexander Mørk-Eidem. Translation: Monica Ohlsson. Costumes: Maria Gyllenhoff. Lighting: Ellen Ruge. Sound: Terese Johansson, Mattias Gustafsson and Maria Skoog. Masks: Frida Johansson.