Ghosts

By Robert Iles - 31st Jan 2007

Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" is a powerful and moving play looking at the path taken by a women freed from a lifetime of duty to a wayward husband by his death - and the return of her beloved son, in an advanced state of syphillitic decline. This new adaptation by Frank McGuiness retains the power of the original but has an easy, lyrical dialogue that flows smoothly and allows us ready access to the story behind the words.

Sian Thomas as Mrs Alving and Sam Crane as Oswald were superb. In the second act, when just the two of them are left on stage, they found a passion and a credibility that was pure "hairs on the back of your neck" delight to watch - moving, believable and utterly watchable - it had the audience silent and amazed. Seainin Brennan as Regine and John Stahl as Engstrand were cast as Irish and it worked very well, except perhaps for the opening scene between the two of them where they stood and ranted, bookend like, across the stage to each other. Whoever plays Pastor Manders has a complex task to achieve as it is hard to put over his extreme views on duty, the role of women and society in general without a modern audience finding it risable - saldly I don't think Simon Shepherd quite found the mark necessary and more than a few laughs were raised by an, at times, 'All Gas and Gators' depiction that lacked real depth and commitment. But perhaps the fault lay with Robert Bowman's direction - it was somewhat pell mell and lacked some of the variation of pace and shade, some of the reflective time in the first act, that would have allowed fuller exploration of the character and some breathing spaces for the audience!

The set, lighting and general staging were superb. I loved the claustrophobic living space backed by 'real' rooms. Raised above the stage and raked quite markedly, it provided an excellent and flexible acting space whilst re-inforcing the lack of escape inherent in the play (designer Tom Piper).

In conclusion, this is a superb play in a new, highly effective and sympathetic adaptation which nearly - so very nearly - was a superb production. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it.