Playwright: Henrik Ibsen, in a new version by Roger Hodgman
Director: Roger Hodgman
Cast: Frank Gallacher, Josephine Byrnes, Frances O'Connor, Amanda Douge, David Latham, Adriano Cortese, Robert Lyon, John Brumpton
Synopsis: A marriage is torn apart by memories of love past.
Rating: 5 stars
This play is a powerful tale about love which wraps a light comic veil over a deeply absorbing dramatic core.
The story is simple. A doctor called Wangl (Frank Gallacher) tries to prise a romantic obsession from the tormented mind of his wife, Ellida (Josephine Byrnes). Years before she had pledged marriage to a mesmeric sailor (John Brumpton) who has haunted her ever since.
Now that obsession preoccupies the doctor, blinding him to the plight of his unhappy adolescent daughters, Bolette (Frances O'Connor) and Hilde (Amanda Douge).
Bolette is courted by a former teacher, Arnholm (David Latham) and a young sculptor, Lyngstrand (Adriano Cortese). And all are entertained by the eccentric painter, Ballested (Robert Lyon).
Thus reduced, the plot sounds like lame melodrama. But Ibsen's thematic symphony, with gentle yet insistent development, gradually wells up towards themes of emminent significance and power.
The self-obsessive relationships, ever present threat of madness and poignant treatment of marriage still come alive with nimbly wrought modernity.
The subjugation of female creativity by male ego, the buffeting of free will by dark subconscious forces and the many subtle blows inflicted to a relationship by memories of love past, are woven into straightforward, but telling episodes that by turn, amuse or sadden.
Script adaptor and director, Roger Hodgman, guides his two excellent central actors, Gallacher and Byrnes, with a sensitivity to pace and atmosphere that is conspicuously masterful.
Gallacher is outstandingly moving as the kind doctor who finally gives his wife the freedom to choose another life. Byrnes, as a woman staring down madness and restlessly striving to break with the comfortable shape of a familiar life she has never been certain she wants, is utterly convincing.
While John Brumpton's portrayal of the mysterious sailor who bewitches Ellida is somewhat bland, other key roles such as the daughters are particularly well-handled.
In short, there is a wisdom and relevance in The Lady from the Sea that will both entertain and move you.