REVIEW: Hedda (After Ibsen), Edge Hill Arts Centre

IT’S hard to believe now that it’s been three years since this show, Hedda (After Ibsen), was meant to premiere at this venue, with star David Hoyle performing in the flesh.

Back in 2020 the evocative promo images already had me hooked, the concept and creatives involved promising an intriguing, avant-garde twist on a classic tale.

Then of course, everything stopped. Lockdown happened, and theatre makers had to find another way. So Hoyle and director Jen Heyes eventually took a different approach, one that, to cut a long story short, gets us to where we are now - an hour long film they have toured with screenings and Q&As to venues all around - including finally back at Edge Hill Arts Centre, where manager Cathy Butterworth had been instrumental in commissioning the piece.

So, to the work. What a treat to see this side of the artist known as Divine David, the punk drag provocateur you may know swapped for the “thoroughbred femme fatale” of Hedda Gabler; as engaging and fascinating as ever, but trying on another, glamorous character for size.

The result gives Ibsen’s play a stylish, yet meaningful update, part Brechtian cabaret, partly a deep dive into what makes Hedda, as she interacts with other characters in new ways and demands answers from her creator.

The songs, by Tom Parkinson with lyrics by Heyes, are an evocative, New Romantic opera; captivating, sometimes unsettling, like a lounge act in a David Lynch film. It’s an hypnotic, dream-like journey that brings Hedda into the now with a vivid and memorable performance from Hoyle.