The New Theatre, Dublin
Feb 6-18
My review of
Sheer Tantrum’s production of The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen
coming up just as soon as I hang a wreath on a weathervane ...
In the
playography of Henrik Ibsen, The Master
Builder comes near the end – at a point where his writing has subverted classical
representation, buckling at the symbolist seams as in the case of Peer Gynt, while also receiving a definite
dose of realism with the likes of A Doll’s
House. This play, sharing the symbolist energies of Peer Gynt, grounds itself in more realist territory, though lacks
the singular thematic slam of A Doll’s House.
When the great architect Halvard Solness climbs the tower at the play’s
conclusion, a director can place what happens next within the narrative syntax
of “happily ever after” or “they all wept”. For Sheer Tantrum’s production
Vincent O’Reilly doesn’t send the master builder to his castle in the air.
Solness seems to
possess a natural sense of luck, for the sight which he desires most – his own
greatness – tends to manifest before his eyes, thanks mainly to a series of
fortunate coincidences. Such is not the case for the women in his life. His
book-keeper Ms. Fosli would rather impair her ability to see clearly, removing
her glasses as if a blemish to her appearance. His wife Aline catches their
gestures towards each other and it is enough for her to paint a picture, one
she doesn’t wish to see but yet can’t remove her eyes from. Solnesss may have
the superior view but he’d have to share it before long, for when he responded
to a knock on the door he didn’t expect to walk into a woman’s long awaited and
desired picture: her reunion with her Master Builder.
Like last
November’s The Applicant, the performance
space is bare, reliant on the actors to clue us in on their surroundings. Colm
Ivors throws an occasional square of light onto the stage, suggesting scenic change.
The performers are in a hurry though, and lines are regularly mowed over.
O’Reilly pre-starts the play with a tableau of the cast repeating individual
gestures, possibly intended as a reference point to significant actions that
occur later. If these gestures correspond with later moments, these later
moments receive no punctuation or lull for the audience to register that
continuity – another indicator that the production needs to slow down.
Lauren O’Toole’s
foreword in the play’s programme discusses the character of Hilde, who, from
everything down to her arrival, history, and infatuation with Solness, sticks
out as a non-realist figure. She’s reduced to this notion here, and I would
like to see O’Reilly and Jane Myers not play all their cards on the character’s
childlike mannerisms but try and explore the romanticist complexities that have
such a strong influence over her life. Melissa Nolan also never seems to get
under the surface of her role, wearing a severe Beckettian expression
throughout but never accessing Aline’s immense grief.
The delightful turn
in the evening comes from Patrick O’Donnell, who expertly crafts his architect
into a form very human, exposing the flaws in Solness’s design while continuing
to build his egotistical path to success. O’Donnell covers a lot of emotional
bases as Solness comes under the mysterious power that Hilde holds over him,
and ultimately manages to turn a dislikeable character into a sympathetic one. The
production is further complimented by charming performances by Duncan Lacroix
and Áine Lane.
O’Reilly clearly
wishes to abandon theatrical realism, and one can see what would draw his
company to The Master Builder. He’s
still searching for his stage vocabulary though. It will be interesting to see,
if with continued exploration of physicality, lighting and sound, what tantrum
the company will throw next.
What did
everybody else think?
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