Adapted from the original by Brian Friel, a bold new production of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler challenges audiences to consider one of the great masterpieces of European theatre from a different perspective. Directed by Chelsea Walker, Hedda Gabler will run from 18 October – 2 November at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre.
Trapped in her new home, a young wife longs for a different future. Hedda Gabler, now Hedda Tesman, has everything she said she wanted, and nothing she really desires. Now time is ticking, she’s losing sense of who she really is and the walls are closing in. Can Hedda escape her own life?
Caroline Berry, who featured in the Ruth Jones’ TV comedy drama, Stella, will play Bertha. Last seen at Sherman Theatre in The Taming of the Shrew, Alexandria Riley plays Thea Elvsted. Nia Roberts (Blue, Chippy Lane Productions; Bang, BBC One) has been cast as Juliana Tesman and Jay Saighal (Ackley Bridge, Channel 4; Romeo & Juliet / Richard III, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre) will play Eilert Loevborg.
These four exceptional actors join the previously announced Marc Antolin (George Tesman) making his Sherman Theatre debut having recently been seen in Little Shop of Horrors (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe).
The captivating character of Hedda Gabler is played by Heledd Gwynn (Richard III, Headlong; Say It With Flowers, Sherman Theatre) and Richard Mylan returns to Sherman Theatre to play Judge Brack following performances in Gary Owen’s The Cherry Orchard and Killology.
Sherman Theatre’s Artistic Director Joe Murphy said:
“Hedda Gabler is a beguiling and beautiful play that explores the damage we do when we don’t live as ourselves. In this age of identity crises, both personal and political, this play has never been more relevant. Chelsea Walker has assembled an incredible cast and I can’t wait to see her thrilling, contemporary version of the play.”
Designer Rosanna Vize, Composer & Sound Designer Giles Thomas, and Lighting Designer Joseff Fletcher complete the creative team assembled for this production.
Hedda Gabler is the latest of Sherman’s autumn season Main House productions, which have become a key part of the Cardiff’s theatrical landscape over the past few years. Previous successes include Nigel Williams’s adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies in 2018; Gary Owen’s radical reimagining of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov in 2017 (winner of a UK Theatre Award for Denise Black’s performance); The Weir by Conor McPherson in 2016; and Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in 2015.
Brian Friel’s new version of Ibsen’s masterpiece originally premiered at The Gate Theatre, Dublin, in 2008.
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For booking details visit http://www.shermantheatre.co.uk