Adapted and directed by Artistic Director, Eamon Flack, and starring the inimitable Pamela Rabe, re-uniting the team behind The Glass Menagerie, Belvoir presents a new production of the Ibsen classic, Ghosts at Belvoir St Theatre from 16 September 2017.
Since the death of her charismatic but abusive husband, Helene Alving (Rabe) has been treading water in a sea of empty days. What keeps her going is a deeply held belief that salvation can only lie in telling her son Oswald the truth about his father. But when Oswald returns after living as an artist in France, he has his own truth to reveal: he is already living the consequences of his father’s life…
Ibsen’s Ghosts is an indictment of the middle class; it shocked critics and was banned in European theatres when it debuted in 1882. Ghosts critiques of religion, the patriarchy, class, free love, prostitution, hypocrisy, heredity, incest and euthanasia still powerfully resonate today. It chronicles a family locked into a destructive cycle of physical and spiritual inheritance, and in fatally repeating the patterns of the past.
Directed by Artistic Director Eamon Flack (The Rover, Ivanov, Angels in America Parts One and Two, The Glass Menagerie), leading the cast is the formidable, multi award-winning actress and star of Wentworth, Pamela Rabe (The Glass Menagerie) as Helene Alving – the woman determined to free herself from “dead ideas, dead customs, dead morals.”
“Pam and I wanted to work together again after The Glass Menagerie and we both independently came to Ghosts,” said Flack. “It’s a play from over a century ago about a woman who tries to find a way to deal with the Problem of Men, of male sexual aggression. It’s just a classic, riveting masterpiece.”
Completing the cast is Tom Conroy (1984, Jasper Jones, Mother Courage and her Children) as her son, Oswald, Robert Menzies (The End, A Christmas Carol, The Government Inspector) as the Pastor Mander, Taylor Ferguson (The Rover, Miss Julie) as Regina Engstrand and Colin Moody as Jacob Engstrand.
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is known as the master of modern European drama, whose enduringly topical plays continue to be staged in all parts of the world. From works such as Peer Gynt, that reinterpreted Scandinavian mythology for the modern sensibility, to his mature plays such as A Doll’s House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People and The Wild Duck, Ibsen created stage characters that undermined the certainty of society.
Director: Eamon Flack Featuring: Tom Conroy, Taylor Ferguson, Robert Menzies, Colin Moody, Pamela Rabe Set Designer: Michael Hankin Costume Designer: Julie Lynch Lighting Designer: Nick Schlieper Composer & Sound Designer: Stefan Gregory Assistant Director: Carissa Licciardello Stage Manager: Luke McGettigan Assistant Stage Manager: Kaytlin Petrarca
Ghosts
Belvoir Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills
Season: 20 September – 22 October 2017 (previews: 16 – 19 September)
Information and Bookings: www.belvoir.com.au
Image: Pamela Rabe stars as Helene Alving in Ghosts – photo by Daniel Boud