Hedda and Nora. A 19th century Norwegian playwright created two female protagonists that resonate with us strongly today. Nora, in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1879) reminds us of the unending debates on women’s rights and individual freedom in the patriarchal society that Ibsen portrayed (and hasn’t completely ended). And Hedda, the female protagonist in Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler (1890), is a fascinating character, immoral, a bit childish, impatient with her sedate husband.
Both of these plays are often revived in various forms. Today, you have the chance to see the sparkling new production of Hedda Gabler being staged by Remy Bumppo Theatre, directed by artistic director Marti Lyons. The adaptation is by Christopher Shinn, based on the literal translation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey.
As the play begins, the Tesmans—Hedda and Jorgen—have just arrived at their new home after a long honeymoon trip to Europe. The highlight of the six-month honeymoon for Jorgen (Eduardo Curley) was his extensive academic research “on the domestic crafts of Holland and Belgium during the Middle Ages.” Hedda (Aurora Real de Asua) was not amused with these activities and Jorgen doesn’t seem to understand why she was bored. He’s expecting a promotion to professor soon, and the new salary will help him cover the expenses of the large new house and the extravagances of his new wife.
Hedda is the daughter of a renowned general (whose pistol collection she now owns), but finds there is no respectable role or activities outside the home for a married woman. And she does not cease to let us know she is bored.
Thea Elvsted (Gloria Imseih Petrelli) arrives, frantic to tell the Tesmans that the writer Ejlert Lovborg is back in town and she fears he will take up his drinking habit again. He has published a book, which has been successful, and has another one coming out, which will put him in competition with Jorgen for the same position. Thea has been helping Ejlert with his new book and is eager for it to be finished and published. Thea, married to an older man, is unhappy in her marriage and she and Hedda commiserate about that.
Both Judge Brack (Greg Matthew Anderson) and Ejlert Lovborg (Felipe Carrasco) visit the Tesmans. It’s clear that Hedda and Ejlert had a romantic relationship in the past. She’s also flirtatious with Judge Brack, an unscrupulous man of uncertain morals.
Hedda Gabler is an “untidy narrative,” as Lyons comments in her program note. Lyons is interested in complexity and how we can live with the discomfort of that untidy narrative. With her artful direction, the cast of seven brings the play to us as a complex narrative played out in a brisk 90 minutes.
The acting is generally excellent with notable performances by Aurora Real de Asua as Hedda, Eduardo Curley as Jorgen Tesman, and Greg Matthew Anderson as Judge Brack.
Hedda’s character is written so that it is possible to play her as a rude and insensitive person. She refuses to warm up to Jorgen’s Aunt Juliane (Annabel Armour), even though her husband has a close family relationship with her. She’s flirtatious with two men outside her marriage. Real de Asua plays Hedda as a young woman desperate for freedom, not caring whom she hurts in that process. The performance does not portray her as a lost soul searching for beauty, as is sometimes described. That means the ending (no spoilers) fails to make sense. A few of Hedda’s lines do refer to her quest for beauty, but they are lost in the brisk pace of the production. Hedda Gabler productions typically run 2 to 2.5 hours with an intermission. This adaptation runs 90 minutes.
The versatile scenic design by Joe Schermoly provides a salon downstage with a second room (a library) upstage so that scenes take place in both areas at once. Lighting design is by Max Grano De Oro with sound design by Christopher Kriz. Costumes are by Kotryna Hilko. A clever touch is to have the stage crew dressed as housemaids. Jean E. Compton is stage manager.
This is the third time that I've reviewed Hedda in the last six years. The Artistic Home produced it in 2023 and TUTA Theatre staged an original musical version in early 2020. A 2025 film version, titled Hedda and starring Tessa Thompson, is streaming on Prime Video. The film is set in 1950s England and is an adaptation of the Ibsen play with characters and plot points changed.
Hedda Gabler by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company continues through March 8 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Running time is 90 minutes. Tickets and more information available here or you can phone the Theater Wit box office at 773-975-8150.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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