The Wild Duck - Coronet

Agree. I think their last was Dance of Death though ? Their very best was Lady From The Sea which brilliantly combined English and Norwegian actors but they have all been worthwhile for Ibsen/Strindberg enthusiasts. 

Yes I saw that one. An interesting version of that was at The Gate with Michael Pennington directed by Tom Littler which included the sequel in a single adaptation. I think the only Coronet/Norwegian Ibsen I missed was Little Eyolf. 

I think somehow they were all the same company - the same actors appeared in several of them.

I'm going. Can't wait. The Coronet is such a great venue.

Really enjoyed this.

The seats have had a bit of a refresh, much more cushioned and new upholstery (possibly even new seats, not quite sure) and there is a tiny bit more leg room. Not enough, I cannot physically fit into them so am reliant on picking my usual aisle seat but the most comfortable visit I have had there.


The production is slow and deliberate running pretty much bang on 3 hours. Slight issues with surtitles with a couple of obvious pauses and then speeding through some lines too fast to be read.

Minimal staging so all focus is on the cast and they are uniformly excellent. Short run but suspect will be a big hit for Coronet.

I suspect no issue with them from any seat in the house and I assume they will have been working on the slight pacing issues

This is very good. Very straightforward but well acted and directed. Reminded me of the superlative Michael Grandage Donnar production. 4*

The only theatres with any commitment to hosting foreign language productions are the Coronet and Barbican. I’ve always thought the NT should have developed links with European “national” theatres like the Comedie Francaise and hosted reciprocal short seasons of each other’s productions. But the simple fact is that the NT is not in the slightest bit interested in Europe, they’re too in thrall to the USA. I can think of two foreign language productions they’ve hosted in the past 40 years.

This is very impressive. As always, of course, I can only speak for myself but, at the same time, I can point out that there didn’t seem to be any empty seats in the auditorium* and the audience genuinely seemed rapt throughout. I don’t usually like much messing about with a playwright’s creation and there’s no getting away from the fact that there are cuts here but they are reasonably – what’s the word – judicious. It must be said, though, that the cuts are hardly minor and occasionally I thought the narrative was slightly impeded** The performances we saw, though were top notch in my opinion. Of course, I don’t speak Norwegian so I suppose it’s possible the actors were fluffing their lines all over the place; but I don’t think so. And the body language and intonation were both gripping and, often, revelatory**


The stripped back set worked very well. I usually like my period props but such an approach might have been impractical here – especially as most of us needed clear sight lines to the surtitles- which I found rather easier to see than I had for When We Dead Awaken. A period feel, anyway, is adequately conveyed by the largely homespun costumes.


I’m quite surprised to see quite a few seats still available for Saturday’s last two performances. All I can do is recommend it and say it really deserves to sell out. In my comments on the Almeida’s Roots I made a bet with myself that the three hours at the Coronet would seem shorter than the hundred minutes at the Almeida. I think I won!


*though I suspect there was at least one as, just before the start, someone complained rather audibly that he wouldn’t be able to last three hours in the Coronet’s seating and apologised, presumably for brushing past people on the way out.

Just a few thoughts - not meant to be in any way authoritative:


3 hours is generous estimate of the running time.  We made sure we stayed for all the bows at the end but still we were on the platform at Notting Hill Gate by 2227.


Another contrast with the Roots I saw the night before was that this production of The Wild Duck was very well ventilated.  There were plenty of pauses - even the odd silence - and the delivery of the lines was never rushed. (Not to mention the (imo) overuse of that plinkety plonk music that told us something profound was happening  - just in case we couldn't work it out for ourselves).


The missing characters probably wouldn't have needed more than ten minutes to deliver their lines but the missing scene with Graaberg would have explained old Ekdal's need to interrupt Werle's dinner; and Pettersen, a boozing buddy of the old man, also gives us some background.  Molvik says little but he is present at the brunch scene along with Gregers and Relling.  (What intrigued me is the latter's description of Molvik as 'demonic'  Given the doctor's own dishevelled appearance in this production, I couldn't help wondering what his 'demonic' housemate would have looked like had he been there!).

Are we sure Icke didn't chop lines as well as adding his own self-indulgent tripe?  I left that production at the interval - and I only stayed that long out of consideration for my fellow audience members.  So I don't know if RI cut Ibsen's text to accommodate his own. (And before anyone asks: no, I don't regret missing the post-interval coup de theatre).


As for the surtitles, you might well have a point.  I was in the front row and had no problem but I can believe they might be less legible from the back of the auditorium.

The subtitles came thick and fast which created a challenge and my two friends bailed in the interval. I enjoyed it. Fantastic acting