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A CurtainUp London London Review
The Lady from the Sea



A mermaid, gasping for breath. . . She can't get back to the sea again, she's lost her way. That's why she's dying in the thin water, you see.—Ballested
The Lady from the Sea
Lia Williams as Ellida
(Photo: Simon Annand)
The Lady from the Sea completes the Ibsen diptych at the Arcola theatre, in an excellent new version by Frank McGuinness. Although less well-known than many of Ibsen's plays, this production rightfully restores the play to its proper place in the Ibsen canon. With hints of folklore and mythical significance, we watch the heroine's struggle for freedom and love, constrained by fear of an unreconciled past and by the loneliness of an off kilter marriage.

Lia Williams plays Ellida , the eponymous lady from the sea and who is in thrall to the mysterious, dark power of a past lover who shares her kindred with the sea. With an otherworldly, elfin quality, she is like a mermaid from a folk tale trapped on dry land. Her practically transparent skin could almost be made of water, her eyes are preternaturally pale and she has a shock of short red hair. Combined with this unearthliness is her mental illness and Lia Williams' performance could be study in neurotic distraction. Her eyes wander from side to side, rarely fixing on a single object and she grows frantic at the tiniest provocation. Nevertheless, other characters seem a bit drab next to her illuminating if demented charisma.

The rest of the cast provide solid support. Jonathan Hackett is the kindly, true Dr Wangel who seeks to gain back his wife by releasing her. His two daughters are played by Fiona O'Shaughnessy as Hilde the engagingly blunt scamp and Alison McKenna as Bolette the eldest daughter trapped by domestic management. Chris Moran plays the ashen Lyngstrand, a dying, egoistical artist with Uriah Heap-style cringing which does not disguise his essential selfishness.

Jason Southgate's design is a starkly populated vacuum, with small islands of set separated and dotted around the auditorium. A veranda, an arbour and a rocky pool are scattered about with the black stage peeping through in between, just as the Wangels live their separate lives in an unconnected diaspora of a household. Long thing panels of sky are just visible on the sides of the set, so the audience also feel they are in the high-sided fjord which is suffocating Ellida.

Frank McGuinness' translation is exemplary, with all of Ibsen's poetry and imagery evoked without seeming high-flown or unnaturalistic. With a strongly conversational rhythm, the version feels more like an original play than a translation. Like the Arcola's Enemy of the People, this is a classic production of a classic play, with excellent writing and a strong cast.

THE LADY FROM THE SEA
Written by Henrik Ibsen
In a new version by Frank McGuinness
Directed by Hannah Eidenow

Starring: Lia Williams
With: Jonathan Hackett, Alison McKenna, Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Sean Campion, Chris Moran, Jim Bywater, Christopher Obi
Set Design: Jason Southgate
Costume Design: Lorna Ritchie
Lighting: Michael Nabarro
Composer: Melanie Pappemheim
Sound: Giles Perring
Running time: Two hours 40 minutes with one interval
Box Office: 020 7503 1646
Booking to 31st May 2008
Reviewed by Charlotte Loveridge based on 2nd May 2008 performance at the Arcola Theatre, Arcola Street, London, E8 2DJ (London Overground: Dalston Kingsland)
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©Copyright 2008, Elyse Sommer.
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