The Wild Duck at The Almeida

Thanks to Robert Icke’s direction of his new modern day adaptation of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, now playing at The Almeida, there’s no chance of being in the dark as to what’s going on.  At various intervals the actors (especially Kevin Harvey as Gregory) use hand held mics to deliver asides to the audience, filling us in on …. well almost everything!  Whilst not on everyone’s list as one of our young top directors, it’s safe to say that he can be relied upon to always produce something out of the ordinary, especially with classic plays.  I for one, applaud his vision of turning old school adaptations on their heads, often in a radical fashion.  He describes this as “searching for a return to the impulse of the original play, to clear away the accumulated dust of its performance history”.

Icke’s deconstruction of The Wild Duck has had one critic denouncing him as arrogantly misleading us regarding Ibsen’s original premise.  That may be so, I don’t know, but what is hopefully true is that he is opening up a classic play to a younger audience.

The backbone of this 1884 tragi-comic drama is secrets and lies and it begins with the reuniting of old friends, Gregory Woods and James Ekdal (Edward Hogg) at the home of Gregory’s father, Charles (Nicholas Day).  For differing reasons, both men are suffering from a damaged childhood.  Gregory, an idealist, rejects his wealthy father, condemning him for a lifetime of lying, whilst James lives in the shadow of the fact that his father, Francis (the wonderful Nicholas Farrell) has spent time in prison.  Following Gregory’s decision to rent the bottom floor of the apartment inhabited by James, wife Gina (Lyndsey Marshal), thirteen year old daughter Hedwig (Clara Read on the night I went) and Francis, the Ekdal’s life is ripped apart.  Thanks to Gregory’s need to tell the truth no matter what, long held secrets regarding Gina and Charles Woods are given the light of day and unleash the worst possible tragedy.

The cast are exemplary and Icke’s direction allows each and every one of them to display their hidden emotional depths to great effect.  Especially fine is Nicholas Farrell, who expertly portrays the fact that Francis is in the early throes of dementia.  His tender relationship with Hedwig is a joy to behold, helped by the fact that Clare Read is an extremely accomplished young actress.  Edward Hogg makes for a thoroughly believable James, so much so, that there are times when there’s a tremendous urge to bang this self-centred dreamer’s head against the wall!  Praise too for Kevin Harvey who manages to imbue the verbose Gregory with hidden troubled depths, despite there being no hint of anything but a calm exterior at the start of the play.  Meanwhile Lyndsey Marshal leaves us in no doubt that this tragic woman has given her whole life to caring for her infantile husband and frail daughter.

Bunny Christie’s set is also to be applauded.  The metamorphosis from bare stage to habitable living space is effortlessly carried out during the interval and hiding the attic from view until the end a triumph.  The sight of the imagined forest portrayed by fir trees bedecked in twinkling lights is, for me, the most affecting moment in the whole production, rather than the tragic denouement which is just too melodramatic and overstated.

PS. I love the duck!