Hedda Gabler (SE)

Hedda Gabler is one of Henrik Ibsen’s most durable masterpieces. The tale about the frustrated woman who is trapped in patriarchal social structures, out of which she feels an increasingly desperate need to escape, was written in 1890. It has been staged on several occasions at Dramaten, and the 1964 production was directed by Ingmar Bergman. He also directed it at the National Theatre in London in 1970 and at the Residenztheater in Munich in 1977.

Anna Pettersson appeared in the title role herself in the celebrated production at Stockholms City Theatre in 1998. These days she is primarily a director, rather than an actor, having staged an acclaimed production of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck at Dramaten. She is continuing to explore Ibsen in an equally pared down format with an equally radical attitude in her interpretation of Hedda Gabler at Lejonkulan.

Electra Hallman in the title role is the only actor who is physically present on the stage. She interacts with video projections of the three characters who circle around Hedda Gabler: Jörgen Tesman, Assesor Brack and Ejlert Lövborg.

Anna Pettersson continues to examine how the naturalistic dramas that have become classics over the years, familiar and comfortable to the public, should be able to grip the public in the same way as when they exploded on to the stage in the late 1800s. How can they be deconstructed and made to shock again?

The stage design was created by Anna Pettersson together with Jan Lundberg, who also designed the costumes, taking Ibsen’s home in Oslo as a starting point. The past and the present exist in parallel, and dreamlike passages break up the psychologically realistic style that is associated with the play. Meet a new Hedda Gabler.