Andrew Lincoln and Alicia Vikander in The Lady from the Sea. Photo by Johan PerssonSuccessful neurologist Edward (Andrew Lincoln) lives happily with his second, much younger wife, Ellida (Alicia Vikander) until she miscarries their unborn child which she attributes to the mysterious malevolent appearance of a former lover Finn (Brendan Cowell) in a dream. Edward’s protective instincts are to control the situation by increasing her medications, but Ellida is adamant that Finn’s return to claim her is real and imminent, and she is determined to assert agency and control over her situation.
Stone first breaks, and then layers the underlying household tensions by weaving-in the mundane and jocular through the couple’s rowdy interactions with Edward’s daughters from his first marriage to a mixed race woman. Petulance and playfulness inform Hilda (Isobel Akuwudike) and Asa’s (Gracie Oddie James) behaviour, as they confidently assert their place in events — their positions often tinged with subtle resentment and disguised mourning for their mother who was lost to suicide. Into their orbit are thrown a handsome but awkward young patient Heath (Joe Alwyn), who is wrestling with a damning neurological prognosis by planning his own sculptural epitaph, and a fourth cousin Lyle (John Macmillan), whose generally affability (and hamper gifts of luxury spices) make him the frequent subject of ribbing, serving to add levity and neutralise tensions.
As an adjunct to the star billing of Vikander and Lincoln, the production benefits greatly from the technical arsenal which Bridge Theatre offers to any set designer. Here, Lizzie Clachan’s raised central platform supports white outdoor furniture in the first half, becoming ever darker in the second as the actors play beneath a torrential downpour. As the play references the tragic events which surrounded Finn and Ellida’s former eco-activism, the production reaches its crescendo, with the set’s central section sinking to form firstly a shallow watery playing area, and then a much deeper pool allowing for a memorable final coup de théâtre before black-out.
The soporific setting in which Ibsen’s characters usually wrestle with their turgid emotional turmoil, has been eschewed in favour of a contemporary revitalisation. For this reviewer, the result is a far more relevant and accessible beast, to which audiences will undoubtedly respond with positivity and appreciation.
THE LADY FROM THE SEA plays at the Bridge Theatre until 8th November.
