www.newcitystage.com: Gwydion Theatre’s pared-down, gripping production of Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts” at the Greenhouse is a homecoming of sorts: oddly enough, the play premiered in 1882 in Chicago, in an auditorium on Milwaukee Avenue at Huron. There it was performed in its original Danish (then the written language of both Norway and Denmark) to an audience of Scandinavian immigrants.
3 comments:
I am currently on run crew for Ghosts right now, so I was very interested to read this article about the review of another production. The first thing that stood out to me in this article was the history of Ghosts as a production. I love this show, but it is very right that this would be super controversial in 1882 when it premiered. The fact that it premiered in Chicago, while performed in Danish, for Scandinavian immigrants is so interesting as it can change the context and meaning of the play as a whole. It has obviously since been translated into English, but I wonder when the first performance of that was and what motivated it. I love the tragic and gripping story of the play, and I felt that reflected in this article. It is truthfully so dark and deep that it really leaves me feeling haunted. This quote from the article sums up exactly how I feel towards the script, “‘Ghosts’ isn’t a cheerful play, but there is a real pleasure in seeing this grimly cathartic fable about the return of the repressed done so powerfully and so well. The play stings, because that’s what truth does. But it pricks the viewer in a healthy way, forcing us to ask what truths we ourselves have buried and attempted to finesse.” What is interesting, however, which I did not see in this article is the level of humour. While I don’t personally find the show funny, the audiences in the production here at CMU seem to find the show hilarious. In fact, I had two different people separately tell me that they thought it was a comedy. I just find this interesting to note, especially given the review of this article which does not allude to any funny moments at all and really just paints Ghosts as a sad, dreary, and depressing story. It is so interesting to me how different productions can really make the show entirely different and I think that is what creatives should strive for.
So I know that Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama is currently producing ghosts in the Philip Chosky Theater. I am seeing you tonight at 8:00 p.m. and am really excited to see it. and though I have not seen it I have gotten many spoilers I'm so far and so many little hints about the show and the atmospherics they use I've seen the scenery so I'm really so excited to see it tonight and I know it's not adaptation so I think it'll be very interesting to see how they put this production on but I've heard that this show was one worth watching so I'm just super excited to see the show tonight and for my own opinions on it. I know the cast as well and the production team and they are the most talented people ever so I'm excited to support them, support my big, and support this lovely cast.
It was very interesting to read about a different production of Ghosts, since I am on wardrobe for our production of Ghosts and have been involved in the experience. What struck me immediately when reading the article was the switch from the Reverend Mother to the Church Pastor. I looked up the cast of characters in the original play to confirm that the Pastor is the original. It hadn't occurred to me that the Reverend Mother was a modern interpretation of the play, one that is perhaps unique to this production. The progressive nature of the play, with it's central themes of morality and it's criticism of the patriarchy, suggested to me that the Revered Mother was an inrentional choice. Although, I suppose that suggesting a possible lesbian relationship in a play would have been too progressive for the time and place Ibsen lived in, especially since the play was already being condemned at the time.
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