***** Independent on Sunday **** The Sunday Times **** The Guardian **** The Sunday Express
‘Williams is absolutely mesmerizing in her subtle portrayal of neurotic instability.’ Kate Bassett, Independent on Sunday
‘A tornado of a performance… Hannah Eidinow’s fine production makes for another tremendous Ibsen evening..’ Michael Billington, The Guardian
‘Eidinow’s production is the most daring and psychologically complex I have seen… Williams creates an unforgettable portrait: one of the great Ibsen performances..’ John Peter, Sunday Times
‘Eidinow’s production negotiates the tensions that bristle between the characters with a finely-tuned intensity, led by a performance of ferocious, unsettling brilliance from Lia Williams..’ Mark Shenton, Sunday Express
‘Boasts a central performance of searing psychological insight by Lia Williams..’ Paul Taylor, The Independent
‘Ibsen’s drama of passion and repression exerts a fierce compulsion… unfailingly absorbing..’ Sam Marlowe, The Times
‘Beautifully portrayed by Miss Williams… the Arcola should have another success on its hands..’ British Theatre Guide
‘Lia Williams is a captivating Ellida, impossible not to watch..’ The Stage
‘Expertly re-weaving the plot and the play, McGuinness captures the essence of Ibsen’s drama and gives it a poetic voice that speaks directly to the play’s twenty-first-century audience. [Lia Williams] perfectly portrays this emotionally disturbed, passionately faithful, wildly exciting creature.’ Rogues and Vagabonds
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Lia Williams (The Hothouse, Absurd Person Singular) stars in a new version of Ibsen’s late sensuous drama by Frank McGuinness.
Trapped in an unhappy marriage, Ellida is consumed by her longing for the sea. But the startling arrival of a stranger forces her to confront both the past and a desire for freedom that could destroy her…
Cast includes: Jonathan Hackett, Jim Bywater, Sean Campion, Christopher Moran, Christopher Obi, Alison McKenna, Fiona O’Shaughnessy
Frank McGuinness has been a major presence in Irish drama for the last twenty years. As well as writing his own plays, such as Factory Girls (revived on its 5th year anniversary at Arcola), he has adapted and translated to great acclaim an eclectic range of the classics including an award winning version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.
By Henrik Ibsen, in a new adaptation by Frank McGuinness
Directed by Hannah Eidinow
Arcola Theatre in association with Silkensaw