Hedda+Gabler+Critique

====**I'm glad you expressed your opinions about the production in a positive light. However, there was much to criticize about all the aspects of it. Most of the fault lies with the director and I suspect the negative opinions expressed by your classmates came as something of a surprise. You were in a decided minority but nevertheless what you saw about the work was well reasoned. What I would advise you to do is look for both positive and negative aspects of everything you see. There is hardly anything in theatre that cannot be improved on and there are many things that may be deemed positive about a production. I hope the comments in class help you to sort thru this matter and try to put the production in perspective.**====


 * A**

====The University of Georgia Fine Arts Department did a great job with the production of //Hedda Gabler//. The acting was strong, and the set was simple, allowing the audience to focus on the story of the play. Additionally, the director clearly worked well with the design team to produce a show that flowed with ease.====

====The actress playing the main character, Hedda, did a wonderful job. The character is complex—dark and manipulative. It could not have been easy to portray all of the sides and personalities of Hedda. The actress did not seem to struggle with the part as a whole, which was impressive, but I observed some moments of lapse. When the actress delivered her lines, she was very sure of her character and did a great job. However, when someone else was speaking or the focus was not on Hedda, I noticed the actress almost drifting away from the scene. This could have been a conscious choice as well, because Hedda is quite stuck-up and needs to be in control. I understand if she meant for Hedda to look distracted—uninterested—while others were acting, but she should have made it a little more dramatic, so that I knew it was Hedda acting bored and not the actress. Other main characters did a wonderful job as well, especially Mrs. Elvsted and Tesman. The actress who portrayed Mrs. Elvsted did a great job of making her appear the victim of Hedda’s manipulative games, even though she didn’t trust Ejlert (her boyfriend) and Hedda wasn’t lying about that. When Mrs. Elvsted had her devastated moments, the actress was believable and realistic, which fits very well with the style of the play. The actor who played Tesman, Hedda’s bore of a husband, was really great in my opinion. I thought his portrayal was extremely realistic. Clearly, I can only imagine what a history scholar from that time must have been like, but Tesman was extremely believable. He was a little bit of a bore, and at times seemed foolish for his age, but he loved Hedda. He was so eager to please her and earn her love. This really came across for me when she burned the manuscript, because Tesman was overjoyed that Hedda loved him enough to burn the work of his rival. I sympathized with him more than I sympathized with Hedda. Ejlert, Mrs. Elvsted’s boyfriend and Tesman’s colleague, is a character fairly similar to Hedda. He is complicated-- he has dark desires and thoughts. His struggle with alcoholism changed him, and he takes it very hard when Mrs. Elvsted reveals that she does not trust him. The actors who had minor roles, like Aunt Julie, Judge Brack, and Berta, portrayed their characters nicely as well. I felt that their roles were easier to play, because their characters were fairly transparent and straightforward. Aunt Julie was the meddling aunt who had good intentions. Judge Brack was the family friend who had a thing for Hedda, and she respected him more than she did her husband. Berta was the nervous housekeeper eager to please Hedda (just like the rest of the world).====

====The set of this play really helped me focus on the story of the play, which I think is a key element in a work of realism. It was not distracting or overly stylized. It was simply a living room/drawing room space, making it feel more like an every-day home. All of the action was confined to this small space, which reflects Hedda's feeling of restriction and confinement. The Tesman’s house, however, was a financial stretch for Mr. Tesman. This also parallels Tesman's feelings toward Hedda. He gave everything to get her this house; he is so eager to please her. She does not find the house spectacular; she is bored with him no matter what he does. In addition to the physical space, the lighting used in the play seemed to have a big impact on it. I'm sure if the director worked closely with the designers and lighting technicians to achieve this effect. Mr. Tesman enters the drawing room and opens the curtains; he wants to allow sunlight to absolutely fill the space. This reaction to light gives the audience an immediate glimpse into Mr. Tesman's character-- he is open, loving, and happy. Hedda has a very different reaction to the light: she objects to the flood of sunlight. She is a darker character, and the audience can see this very early on. The overall stage was full of shadows, and it looked almost secretive in certain areas. In addition to lighting cues, the appearance and overall movement of the characters affected the play as whole. Their complexions, gestures, and the way they interact with each other highlight their separation. All of the middle-class characters (Mrs. Elvsted, Mr. Tesman, Aunt Julie) are fair with lighter hair and eyes. The aristocratic characters (Hedda, Judge Brack, and Ejlert) all have darker coloring with darker features. By the way that Mr. Tesman interacts with his aunt, the audience can tell that they are a tight-knit family. There is a lot of love and appreciation for one another. Hedda does not feel this way about others-- she has appreciation for anyone who can get her what she needs. This is evident in the way she carries herself and the way she speaks to others. In the scene where Hedda lies down with flowers and speaks about how very bored she is, she looks like a dead woman. It foreshadows her death at the end of the play. I didn't see any real significance in the costumes-- they seemed to fit the time period fine, but they did not "wow" me or illustrate anything in particular for me.====

====Henrik Ibsen, the playwright, wrote //Hedda Gabler// in a series of plays that highlighted the major faults of the human condition. Focusing on realism, he depicted characters that shared the faults of so many people in his audience. Major themes in the play are manipulation, women and femininity, and wealth/class struggles, which are all problems that people face every day. The play is set in Norway in the late 1800s, so women were very restricted in what they could do, learn, and own. Hedda is bored with her life, and she longs for control. She uses her femininity and good looks to manipulate others. She plays games with them so she can feel like she’s pulling the strings for once. Women watching this play can sympathize with Hedda; sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you’d hoped, and you struggle to get the reigns back.====

====Wealth and class struggles were definitely prevalent in the setting, writing, and production of the play, and they still exist now. Hedda, the daughter of a rich family, marries a middle-class man. He tries to please her and give her everything, but it’s not enough. She married him with the hope that his academics would bring him fame, and she craves the spotlight. There are few things that Tesman can do to truly bring her happiness, so she entertains herself by meddling in the lives of others. This conflict between husband and wife has existed for all time, and it will continue to exist in the future. Unfortunately, in Hedda's case, this unhappiness led to her death. She encouraged a man to kill himself solely so she could enjoy his poetic death, but when he died in a "disappointing" way for Hedda, she was not happy. When Judge Brack told her, out of his undeniable interest in her, that he would help cover it up, she realized something. She would no longer be in control if Judge Brack was telling her exactly what to do to fix this mess. Additionally, after a six-month honeymoon and countless "baby hints" from Aunt Julie, the audience suspects (but is never sure) that Hedda is pregnant. If she knows that she's pregnant, that also sends her into a panic. With motherly responsibilities, she cannot be the current version of herself that she loves so much. The only way out of this mess is through suicide. The "poetic death" she'd always wanted.====

====The play is truly a timeless work. The problems the characters face are true, deep faults of mankind, and they are not going away any time soon. This play will always have relevance, which I think is the most crucial element of any work of art. I’d heard the title, //Hedda Gabler//, many times, but I’d never seen it until this production. I’m very glad I saw it here at UGA, because they did a great job with it.====