IBSEN'S GHOSTS

Duchess Theatre

22.02.10

Rain on the windows of the Alving house – a coldly elegant anteroom, conservatory behind. Little hint of the fjords beyond, and a feeble fire at the orphanage.

Captain Alving's ill-fated memorial takes centre stage, though, in the form of a detailed scale model, sitting between Mrs Alving and Pastor Manders in the opening scene.

She was Lesley Sharp, an intense, haunted performance, but often with a wry, weary smile. He was Iain Glen, also making his début as a director here. A strong presence, almost Paisleyan in his religious ranting, except that the accent was hard to pin down, and he did rather too much striding and prowling.

Excellent support from the two youngsters: Jessica Raine as the maid, and Harry Treadaway as the doomed bohemian who returns to the family home, his mind broken by the sins of his father.

Malcolm Storry was a fine Engstrand, the manipulative artisan who flatters, cajoles and threatens to manipulate the Pastor and the girl who called him father.

Ibsen's tragedy leaves the truth half-spoken, Oswald's end unclear. Frank McGuinness, now as well known for his versions of the classics as for his own work [Someone Who'll Watch Over Me] uses a modern vernacular, with hints of poetry, and of anachronism. Sharp, at any rate, manages to make her lines sound natural and spontaneous, until finally words fail her, and she sinks to the floor with a bestial moan.

Glen's is a worthy revival of a play which speaks differently to each successive generation, though not I think an historic production: Glen is too shallow, and Sharp, though a fine actress, lacks the tragic depth that Dench or Ashcroft could bring to the role.