THE WILD DUCK
It is not often that one sits in a packed theatre and does not hear even the slightest fidgeting for the complete duration of a show. But every once in a while a play comes along that is so mesmerising, so raw , so utterly good that it can hold the audience’s unyielding attention from lights up to final bows. The Wild Duck is such a show.
For Belvoir St’s opening show of the 2011 season, writer-director-theatrical wunderkind Simon Stone and co-writer Chris Ryan have produced a licentious interpretation of Ibsen’s 1884 tragi-comedy. They have modernised it, minimised it, and encased it in glass. And it works.
Maintaining only six of the original 13 characters, Stone’s production features the always delightful Toby Schmitz as Gregers Werle, a wayward son returning home for the Hefner-esque wedding of his estranged father (the majestic John Gaden). While back Gregers is forced to confront his own family’s sordid past, while forcing the skeletons out of another’s tragic closet.
Outstanding performances from Ewen Leslie, Anthony Phelan and Anita Hegh ensure there’s not a dry tissue left in the house, and the presence of a real live duck is truly a treat to behold. Ten thumbs up.
Until Mar 27, Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills, 9699 3444, $39-59, belvoir.com.au
BY NADINE COHEN
