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REVIEW CLASSIC REVIVAL HEDDA GABLER Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 11 Apr ●●●●●
The landscape of female experience portrayed by Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler may have changed in the century and a quarter since it was written, but in this tale of a woman bound by the expectations of men there’s still much that resonates on a broader human level, as well as a feminist one.
Amanda Gaughan's direction of Richard Eyre’s adaptation brings home the claustrophobia of a woman attempting to gain some agency in her life from the confines of her sitting room with constricting tension, as Jean Chan’s moving set plays with a depth of field effect and Claire McKenzie’s eerie score drives on much of the second act. Despite keeping the 19th century setting of the play, the conflicting issues of freedom and social expectation retain their urgent immediacy.
Nicola Daley’s portrayal of Hedda is fittingly ageless, her youthful
vivaciousness suppressed by her marriage to the dull Tesman, even as she envies young interloper Thea Elvsted (Jade Williams). Lewis Hart is puppy-dog besotted as the scientist husband she doesn’t love, Jack Tarlton at once suave and seedy as her dangerous admirer Eilert Loevborg, and Benny Young’s Judge Brack a seeming friend, despite his professed desire for an affair.
Like a 19th-century Betty Draper from Mad Men, Hedda is both player and pawn in the games of men: for all of her wiles and cunning, she is ultimately no one’s fool but her own. (David Pollock)
REVIEW ROYAL DRAMA THE KING’S SPEECH King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Mon 18–Sat 23 May. Reviewed at Theatre Royal, Glasgow ●●●●●
Thanks to its Oscar-winning 2010 film adaptation, The King’s Speech – originally written by David Seidler as a play – hits the stage. Set in the late 1930s, Seidler’s script lends a political resonance to the story of George VI – then Prince Albert, Duke of York – and his personal struggle with his stammer. The threat of Hitler, and George’s brother’s childish attitude towards monarchical power, suggests that more is at stake in the words of the king than merely personal dignity. This political edge aside, the production is a safe and solid show. A strong ensemble supports good central performances from Raymond Coulthard as the King and Jason Donovan as his speech therapist. A striking yet simple design from Tom Piper houses a play that refuses to dwell on the more problematic aspects of the monarchy in the interwar years, becoming a fable about the importance of friendship, emotional honesty and faith.
While the presence of Winston Churchill (Nicholas Blane) is a reminder of the seriousness of the times, this is an entertaining and not too intense evening: Donovan is a likeable hero, and Coulthard captures the king’s vulnerability and majesty. The occasional comic interlude – such as Coulthard’s dance number – ensure that the script’s levity triumphs over the possible, more sinister, implications of a failing aristocracy in the face of Nazi invasion. (Gareth K Vile)
PREVIEW LIVE PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL BEHAVIOUR The Arches, Glasgow, Wed 8 Apr–Sun 17 May
‘In the sixth year of the festival,’ says BEHAVIOUR acting artistic director Lucy Mason, ‘we invite artists and audiences to respond to a changing world, exploring their visions of, and for, The Future.’ With the Platform 18 award (this year given to Ishbel MacFarlane), the Arches has always supported the future artists of Scotland, but this time BEHAVIOUR is thinking about what that future might mean. BEHAVIOUR has become a reliable fixture on
the Arches’ calendar, and 2015’s season includes some familiar names. Both Nic Green and German / UK collective Gob Squad return, offering an attempt to pin down Tory rhetoric and multimedia provocation respectively, and Chris Thorpe is back in 2014 Fringe hit Confirmation (pictured). Plus, former Platform 18 award-winner Peter McMaster and Christopher Brett Bailey look at nihilistic leanings in their respective works, 27 and This is How We Die.
BEHAVIOUR’s tendrils reach out much further than the Arches confines: this year, a weekend- long project challenging preconceptions about sexuality and sexual health takes place across the city as part of the Wellcome Collection’s Sexology Season. For those who seek edgier performances, Dark Behaviour considers Queer Futures with guests such as the inimitable David Hoyle and toast of last year’s Edinburgh Festival, the dirty hip hop belle Christeene. (Lorna Irvine)
2 Apr–4 Jun 2015 THE LIST 105