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Playwright: Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Andrew Upton
Director: Robyn Nevin
Company: Sydney Theatre Company at Wharf 1 and Brooklyn Academy of Music (New York)
Cate Blanchett .... Hedda Gabler
Annie Byron .... Berte
Justine Clarke .... Thea Elvsted
Julie Hamilton .... Aunt Julia
Hugo Weaving .... Judge Brack
Anthony Weigh .... Tesman
Aden Young .... Ejlert Lovborg
Imperious and spoiled, Hedda Gabler stands out as one of Ibsen’s most compelling and conflicted characters—an aristocratic woman aching to be free of her middle-class husband yet terrified of scandal. As portrayed by Cate Blanchett ( The Aviator, Elizabeth), an actress blessed with innate grace and an extraordinary dramatic range, Hedda moves through her days perpetually on edge, as volatile as she is vulnerable.
Just home from a six-month honeymoon, Hedda struggles to come to terms with a marriage to a man she finds numbingly dull and the possible pregnancy that threatens to seize hold of her body and future. She quickly realizes that the roots of convention run deep and, out of boredom as much as anything else, begins to indulge in hateful games, manipulating the fates of all who enter her orbit. Aided and abetted by her predatory confidant Judge Brack, played by a pitch-perfect Hugo Weaving ( The Matrix, Lord of the Rings), she eventually goes too far, setting in motion a string of riveting, ultimately tragic events.
Helpmann Award nomination for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play
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