GHOSTS

by Henrik Ibsen & adapted by Richard Eyre
directed by Mike Asiago

Performed at the Kulturzentrum Brotfabrik
From 12 – 16 November, 2019

Ghosts is known in Danish as Gengangere, which literally means “those who return”, but also “events that repeat themselves”. Ibsen was not happy with the English title, because it does not capture the double meaning of the original title. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882 in Chicago, Illinois. The play focuses on Helene, who has spent her life suspended in an emotional void after the death of her cruel but outwardly charming husband. She is determined to escape the ghosts of her past by telling her son, Oswald, the truth about his father. But on his return from his life as a painter in France, Oswald reveals how he has already inherited the legacy of Captain Alving’s dissolute life. Because of its subject matter, the play immediately generated strong controversy and negative criticism.

 

CAST:

Pastor Manders: John Kluempers
Helene Alving: Tracy Tollmann
Oswald Alving, her son: Nikesh Trecarten
Jacob Engstrand: Angus Campbell
Regina Engstrand, his daughter: Emma-Jane Wilcock
The Bonn Players