Ghosts

Synopsis

Classic drama about a woman's struggle against prejudice and fear written in 1881. On her country estate, Mrs Alving is building an orphanage in memory of her dead husband. As her son Oswald, a successful artist living in Paris, returns home and the Pastor arrives to dedicate the orphanage, it seems she can finally bury the painful memories of her past. But over the course of one day, the dark secrets and unresolved tensions of the past are brutally exposed. The strange and complex relationships that bind Mrs Alving and her son to their maid Regina, her father Engstrand and to the priest Manders come to light - and we discover the shocking truth about her dead husband.

Our Review:

5 April 2001

"An open drain; a loathsome sore unbandaged; a dirty act done publicly." Barbs from the savage pen of Henrik Ibsen himself? No. Actually, it was The Daily Telegraph's response to the first London staging of Ghosts in 1891. In fact it wasn't until 1814 that the British finally lifted the subsequent ban placed on this authoritative drama.

The historical overview, suggesting that Ibsen's portrayal of venereal disease reveals a comment on degenerate society, still holds weight. However, given that Ibsen finished the play in 1881, and doubtless intended it to have enduring powers, there's surely something more at work here. Alternatively, you could take the bleak view that Ibsen was so convinced of society's terminal decline that he was confidently able to predict enduring relevance for Ghosts.

In Robin Phillips's tense new staging we are faced with a lot of words but little movement. Thus, the performances of Francesca Annis (Helena Al...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com - 23 May 2001:

Francesca Annis, Martin Hutson and Ibsen triumph over a pretentious and self-conscious staging....

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