A Review of Ibsen's
Ibsen's Ghosts is a story about intrigues, false images, secrets, and lies. Staged at the historical Geva theatre in downtown Rochester, the play was performed on a gradient stage. The scene, a parlor, a room with four doors; the first door {upstage left} leading to bedrooms, the second {downstage left} leading to the kitchen and laundry areas and then outside, the third {downstage right} opens to the dining room and later the cellar, and the last {upstage right} goes to a foyer or coatroom of some sort and then outside. The stage itself was dressed as a living room or parlor complete with a working table, and chairs, fancy couches, end tables, a stout fireplace or woodstove, chairs with ottomans, and a delicate coffee table. The upstage "wall" was comprised mostly of glass making up several floor length French doors running from one end of the stage to the next, backed by a rainy backdrop. My first impression of the set was that for such a small stage there was a lot of stuff on the stage and not much working space but my opinion of this is based on my being a dancer used to productions requiring a lot of space to... dance. Also, no curtains so when the doors opened the whole thing was just there for the audience to take in on
its own like a gigantic dollhouse on display. As I awaited the start of the show I wondered what would happen if the set designers decided to put everything on wheels, just as a gag, and sat back and laughed as the whole set just rolled downstage throughout the play. Oswald, and his soliloquy about the way things are carried on in Paris, further emphasizes the more liberal lifestyle, Ibsen takes ample time, especially her but also throughout the play, to defend the less stringent, more practical way of life. His puppy dog eyes act with Regina, attests to some sort of attraction that Regina is apparently unaware of, his mother however seems distressed by his seeming affections. This, among other things, is probably what leads her to reveal her secrets about her late husband and Regina, seeing her son and Regina together in that light sparked the memories causing her to see the ghosts of times past and she wishes forgotten. In this is revealed her true reasons for putting so much into the orphanage, and also it explains her 'just get it over with' kind of attitude that she displays. The show opens with Regina busily tidying up as Jacob arrives, soggy from outside, bearing news of his plan for his sailor home and for Regina's place in it. My first thought at their interaction was that she's not really his daughter. This intuition was more or less solidified by the few lines in which he had referred to her as a bastard. That this was the opening scene identifies Regina's parentage as the/a main plot of the story, and who her real father is. The lighting design throughout the entire show was truly impressive. The way the day went by so perfectly gradually, even with the rain going on, was really amazing. The more special effects such as the fire at the orphanage and the blazing sunrise were very convincing. The most intriguing effect was that of the table lamp. I could see that it was a real oil lantern and even see the steam rising from it, but what was interesting was the way that the light it gave off was augmented by the lighting effects so that the warm glow that it appeared to emit was magnified but still seemed like it was coming from the lamp itself. One element, that can either be credited to the actors or the director, which I believe was utilized extremely well was the dramatic stare. Those moments when the actor stops and gazes off into nowhere, looking at nothing but seeing their own thoughts in front of them, these thoughts reflecting on their eyes for the audience to see. Mrs. Alving in reflection about
Some common words found in the essay are:
Pastor Manders, Ibsen's Ghosts, Manders Alving, Manders Regina, pastor manders, arrival pastor manders, steam rising, real father, arrival pastor, throughout play, left leading, late husband,
Approximate Word count = 1718
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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