PERFORMANCE REVIEW: Ghosts, or Those Who Return

Ghosts, or Those Who Return
Arcola Theatre, Dalston

In theory, there is nothing preventing Ibsen’s Ghosts from being as relevant today as it was in 1882. Originally dismissed as “an open drain” by a scandalized Victorian audience, its themes of incest, sexual disease and euthanasia are still hitting headlines in 2009. I was expecting Bijan Sheibani’s new adaptation at the Arcola to inject fresh life into the claustrophobic tale, but I left disappointed.

Sheibani and his designer Alex Eales have stuck rigidly to Ibsen’s original stage directions. The set at the Arcola is a generic nineteenth century drawing room, with glossy cornicing framing pale blue walls. There is little acknowledgement in the design of the dark loneliness at the heart of the play, aside from the drizzling rain splattering half-heartedly on the windows. It is left to Jon Clark and Emma Laxton to try and squeeze some atmosphere out of this dry, dull setting, which they do admirably. Laxton’s music is hauntingly melancholic and Clark’s subtle lighting is appropriate, although by the last act the audience are left squinting through the twilight.

Against this backdrop Mrs Alving, Pastor Manders and the syphilitic Oswald trade secrets and revelations. Suzanne Burden gives a strong performance as the miserable matriarch, although her initial restrain is more convincing than her melodramatic outbursts as the play draws to a close. Harry Lloyd’s Osvald is a joy to watch, skillfully underplaying the ‘exhaustion’ which plagues his character and alternating beautifully between puppyish affection for Regine and strained introspection.

Paul Hickey’s Pastor, however, is more problematic. Originally intended as an empathetic character, Pastor Manders was the lens through which Ibsen confronted Victorian society with its own hypocrisy. Although Hickey shows brief moments of emotional depth, for the most part he is left wringing his hands and fretting over the youth of the nation in a weak caricature of a church minister. He quickly becomes a comedic figure, eliciting more laughs than Jim Bywater’s bumbling Engstrand.

Without a convincing link to the Victorian mindset, the audience are left to view the play through the jaded eyes of the 21st century. Osvald’s decline into syphilitic dementia is sad, but not shocking. His mother’s struggles seem needless and his father’s infidelity barely evokes a reaction. Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s new translation is full of rich imagery; the characters speak of loneliness, despair and decay. Unfortunately, the poor staging and flippant handling of the text do not do justice to this darkly tragic story.

Amy Jane Clewes

Ghosts, or Those Who Return runs until 22nd August