Ghosts (tour)

The English Touring Theatre must be riding on the crest of a wave at the
moment. Having received rave reviews for their adaptation of {The
Caretaker::E8821003398855} and a West End transfer for The York Realist, their latest, Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts looks like a dead cert on paper. Thankfully, I can report that this touring version of ground-breaking classic delivers on many levels.

The story centres around the notion that the sins of the father are visited
on the son of the family, and that ghosts of the dead have a powerful hold on
the living. Mrs Alving (elegantly played by Diana Quick) is determined to
think for herself and seek inner happiness following an unhappy marriage.
She made the mistake of returning to her husband based on advice from the
church. Following a visit from her sick son Osvald (Daniel Evans), she
decides to empty the closet, metaphorically speaking. The truth which emerges
in a confessional talk to local Pastor Manders (William Chubb) relieves Mrs Alving
of a heart-breaking burden but looks likely to rock the foundations of all
those around her.

Ibsen’s beautiful play may look dated at first glance, but it’s timeless in its approach and, as the narrative evolves, you find yourself immersed in the latter part
of the 19th century with all of its trappings and need for change. The play
questions religion and its double standards, the facade that marriage can
bring, and a mother’s love for her son knowing no bounds.

The first act does drag, and thus feels slightly uninvolving at the start.
But once the Act Two gets underway, Steven Unwin‘s solid direction ensures
that the play enters a new phase.

As for the performers,
you feel Mrs Alving’s pain due to a majestic turn from Diana Quick who
gets right under the skin of a very complex character, while William Chubb
brings a sense of humour and shades of regret to his role as the repressed
and stubborn Pastor. Excellent support is provided too by Daniel Evans and
Jody Watson as young lovers Osvald and Regina, whose newfound romance
creates the pivotal element of the play which drives an emotional wedge
through the middle of the troubled mother/son relationship.

If you want to see a passionate play which revisits classic territory
without the stuffiness and elite knowing touches that this genre sometimes
relies upon, then Ghosts is for you.

– Glenn Meads (reviewed at The Lowry in Salford)