Ghosts – Lyric Hammersmith
Ibsen’s Ghosts is a serious challenge for anyone to update and adapt. This production falls unfortunately short of meeting that challenge, despite some bright moments.
We follow a rich family of mother, Helena, and her difficult son, Oz, as they prepare for the grand opening of a children’s hospital using the money of Carl, Helena’s recently deceased husband. All this is complicated by the presence of Andersen, a lawyer helping to launch the hospital and an old flame of Helena, and Reggie and Jacob, who have worked for Helena and her family for a long time. Soon, all of the buried skeletons come out of the closet, and there is manipulation, suicide threats, and incest.
Sadly, where Ibsen’s original is a masterpiece of writing, Gary Owen’s update is not of the same ilk. His adaptation...
