The Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s ‘Ghosts’, in which a widow reveals to her pastor that she had hidden the evils of her marriage for its duration, will run at the Arcola Theatre this summer.
Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s new version is presented in collaboration with ATC (Actors touring company) and The Arcola Theatre and will run from 22 July until 22 August.
Henrik Ibsen is regarded as one of Norway’s greatest authors, celebrated as a national symbol by Norwegians, and one of the most important playwrights of all time. He is often referred to as the "father of modern drama" and is one of the founders of modernism in the theatre. His plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when Victorian values of family life and propriety largely held sway in Europe and any challenge to them was considered immoral and outrageous. Ibsen's work examined the realities that lay behind many facades, possessing a revelatory nature that was disquieting to many contemporaries.
Ghosts was published in 1881 and is another scathing commentary on Victorian morality, in which a widow reveals to her pastor that she had hidden the evils of her marriage for its duration. The pastor had advised her to marry her then fiancé despite his philandering, and she did so in the belief that her love would reform him. But she was not to receive the result she was promised. Her husband's philandering continued right up until his death, and the result is that her son is syphilitic. Even the mention of venereal disease was scandalous, but to show that even a person who followed society's ideals of morality had no protection against it, that was beyond scandalous. Hers was not the noble life which Victorians believed would result from fulfilling one's duty rather than following one's desires. Those idealised beliefs were only the Ghosts of the past, haunting the present.
ATC have won several awards and they are renowned for making ambitious and bold productions for as wide an audience as possible. They combine contemporary international playwriting with devised work and innovative productions of classic texts. The Arcola Theatre is one of the most respected arts venues in the UK and is supported both by established names and rising stars within the acting community.
Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen
A new version by Rebecca Linkiewicz
22 July to 22 August at 8pm
The Arcola Theatre
27 Arcola Street
London E8 2DJ
Ticket prices: £16/10
Boxoffice: 020 7503 1646