Henrik Ibsen’s 1884 play The Wild Duck is an accessible, provocative, modern drama centered in a family.
Gregers Werle, the idealistic and dogmatic son of a wealthy businessman, wreaks havoc when he embarks on a crusade to unveil the false foundations of the life of his friend, Hjalmar Ekdal. Ignorant of the adults’ machinations, Hedvig, a young girl, tries to shield the fragile eponymous duck from the injuries of the world. Gregers’ imposition of “righteousness” however, leads to turmoil and death. Ibsen’s genius was to create complex characters who compel us with their humanity.
Simon Godwin (Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya starring Hugh Bonneville and Shakespeare’s Macbeth with Indira Varma and Ralph Fiennes), Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company, returns to Theatre for a New Audience (Measure for Measure and Timon of Athens) to direct this rarely produced Ibsen masterpiece.
David Eldridge’s version had its world premiere at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2005. This is the first major Off-Broadway production of the play in the Eldridge version. A Co-Production with Shakespeare Theatre Company.
