Casting has been announced for the Sherman Theatre’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler opening in October 2019.
Casting has been announced for Sherman Theatre’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. Adapted from the original by Brian Friel, this bold new production challenges audiences to consider one of the great masterpieces of European theatre from a different perspective. Directed by Chelsea Walker (Cougar, Orange Tree Theatre; A Streetcar Named Desire, UK Tour) Hedda Gabler will run from 18 Oct – 2 Nov at Sherman Theatre.
Three exceptional Welsh actors have been cast in this production. Playing George Tesman is Marc Antolin, Marc makes his Sherman Theatre debut having recently been seen in Little Shop of Horrors (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe). The captivating character of Hedda Gabler is played by Heledd Gwynn (Richard III, Headlong; Say It With Flowers Sherman Theatre) and Richard Mylan returns to Sherman Theatre to play Judge Brack following performances in Gary Owen’s The Cherry Orchard and Killology. Further casting is due to be announced in the coming weeks.
Sherman Theatre’s Artistic Director Joe Murphy has said: “Hedda Gabler is a beguiling and beautiful play that explores the damage we do when we don’t live as ourselves. In this age of identity crises, both personal and political, this play has never been more relevant. Chelsea Walker is assembling an incredible cast and I can’t wait to see her thrilling, contemporary version of the play.”
Trapped in her new home, a young wife longs for a different future. Hedda Gabler, now Hedda Tesman, has everything she said she wanted, and nothing she really desires. Now time is ticking, and she’s losing sense of who she really is. Beguiling, fascinating and troubling, there is no other character in drama like Hedda Gabler.
Designer Rosanna Vize; Composer & Sound Designer Giles Thomas and Lighting Designer Joseff Fletcher complete the creative team assembled for this production.
Hedda Gabler is the latest of Sherman’s autumn season Main House productions, which have become a key part of the Cardiff’s theatrical landscape over the past few years. Previous successes include Nigel Williams’s adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies in 2018; Gary Owen’s radical reimagining of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov in 2017 (winner of a UK Theatre Award for Denise Black’s performance); The Weir by Conor McPherson in 2016; and Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in 2015.
Brian Friel’s superb new version of Ibsen’s masterpiece originally premiered at The Gate Theatre, Dublin, in 2008.
