At Fluellen Theatre |
| Fluellen Theatre Company- The Master Builder , Swansea Grand Theatre Arts Wing , May 20, 2004 |
| Henrik Ibsen is often described as the father of modern theatre, as one of the great founders of realism, but his later plays, in particular 'The Master Builder', are sometimes criticised for being too heavy on symbolism. This criticism is absurd, as the play clearly works well on all levels, and is highly entertaining and thought-provoking even if you are not familiar with this piece of classic theatre. In this new performing version, especially commissioned by Fluellen, translated by Francis Hardy, the play is given a modern treatment which works remarkably well considering the play was first produced in 1893. Love, ambition, the rivalry between youth and age, the price we pay for success are the main themes of the play and are just as, if not more, appropriate today then they were then. So, we are now in 1989, and as the lights dim, the music swells. Chosen as the soundtrack for this production, rather obscurely for a piece by Ibsen, but perhaps appropriate for '89, was "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by pop group U2. Then the lights come up once more, and the story begins. Halvard Solness, played perfectly by Peter Richards, is a master builder, the master builder, and is at the very height of his powers professionally, but he is constantly tormented by his unfounded guilt over the death of his infant sons and the subsequent demise of his wife into illness. He believes his success and luck to be a direct consequence of the death of the boys, and he blames himself for bringing about their death in spite of the fact that it was really caused indirectly by some freak accident that burnt the home of his wife's family, where they were living at the time. Solness manipulates Kaja, his secretary and fiancé of his apprentice Ragnar, into persuading her future husband to stay on with him, in spite of young Ragnar's talent and burning ambition to make it on his own. Solness's one great fear is youth, and its power to over-throw and destroy age, and in Ragnar he sees the personification of this fear. Ragnar is ultimately a threat to his position as the master builder. Into his life comes the young, naïve, Hilde, breathlessly interpreted in this production by Angharad Lee. Solness himself describes her as a being something like a sunrise. Hilde claims she and Solness have met before, ten years ago, and he made her a promise, long forgotten by him, and now she demands it be fulfilled. It was a promise that is as absurd as it is impossible, and perhaps even one he never made. Slowly Solness becomes infatuated with the girl, who makes him once again believe that he can achieve anything- even the impossible- but she eventually drives him to his own destruction, but not until he has proved himself, in her eyes, in one brief moment of glory as a true 'master builder'. The set, designed by the director Alexandra Towbridge-Matthews, was very simple but also very effective. During the first act there was a complete absence of Solness's claustrophobic office of the original version, and it was replaced by an office very much of the late twentieth century, and the PC in the inner office added a nice touch. In the second act the furniture was simply rearranged to suggest another room, and later the garden scene set consisted of a bench and a screen to suggest a conservatory. The Swansea theatre Arts wing, seems a rather daunting acting space, with no curtain, and a thrust style stage, but Fluellen's whole cast were almost faultless. The intimate atmosphere is ideal for playwrights like Ibsen, and all this makes you wonder why there seemed to be a severe lack of audience members, this is one company and production that certainly deserves our attention. |
Reviewed by: Lucia Maria |
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