When it comes to Ibsen adaptations, Hare has an excellent track record. His adaptation of The Master Builder was cherished for its uncanny ability to lift the timeless messages out of Ibsen’s starchy, outdated Norwegian prose, something even modern Norwegians find challenging to understand. Hare now promises to drag one of Ibsen’s earliest works into the 21st century, thrusting it into a contemporary setting, rechristened as Peter Gynt.
The play is one of Ibsen's earliest and most famous. It charts the surreal adventures of a solitary young misfit who steals a bride from a wedding, then sets off on a wandering rite of passage across a bizarre world filled with shipwrecks, devils and trolls, for which Edvard Grieg wrote his famous ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’.
We don’t yet know how Hare plans to modernise this classic, but there are tantalising mentions of Gynt making a trip to ‘Florida’. Will Trump make an appearance as the chief troll, King of his Mar-a-Lago mountain? We can only guess at this stage!
The project sees Hare reunited with Jonathan Kent, who directed Hare’s ambitious ‘Young Plays’ (Platonov, The Seagull and Ivanov). James McArdle, who won many laurels for his superb portrayal of the feckless Platonov, is given the title role. We look forward to seeing what McArdle will do with a part brimming with comedic potential. Such a winning combination of names guarantees this production will breathe fresh life into Ibsen’s phantasmagoria.
Booking for Peer Gynt at the National Theatre opens at 8:30am on Friday 15th February.
| What | Peter Gynt, National Theatre |
| Where | National Theatre, South Bank, London, SE1 9PX | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Waterloo (underground) |
| When |
27 Jun 19 – 08 Oct 19, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM |
| Price | £15 - £45 |
| Website | Click here to book and for more information |
