Following the success of the Greeks season, the ever-bold Almeida theatre will refresh two late nineteenth-centure classics. Opening this new season with serious theatrical clout, Henrick Ibsen's surreal late play Little Eyolf is revived by prolific director and former head of the National Theatre, Richard Eyre.
Richard Eyre: Almeida Theatre Ibsen trilogy
Little Eyolf is the third Ibsen play that Eyre has adapted, directed and reinvigorated at the Almeida, and it's got a lot to live up to. Hedda Gabler (2005) was such a hit it transferred to the West End, then Ghosts (2013) followed suit, adding a trio of Oliviers to Eyre's many accolades.
Little Eyolf play: London 2015
As one of Ibsen's last plays, Little Eyolf goes beyond the realism for which the Norwegian playwright is famed. With a bewitching strand of surrealism and folkloric influences, it tells the tale of Rita and Alfred Allmers and their crippled son, the titular Little Eyolf. But when the strange, mythical Rat-Wife arrives, the family's lives are changed irrevocably and Alfred's role as father and husband is cast into sharp focus.
Already surprisingly modern, the play offers rich scope for the radical reworking of classics we have come to expect from the Almeida. As Eyre has already wrung out and reworked Ibsen's work to great success, expect an arrestingly fresh adaptation.
Little Eyolf: Almeida cast
Having worked with Richard Eyre on the BBC's Hollow Crown, actor Jolyon Coy will team up with the director again to play Alfred. He will be joined by Tony-nominated Lydia Leonard, who impressed as Anne Boleyn in the stage adaptation of Wolf Hall & Bring up the Bodies (RSC, West End and Broadway).
Richard Eyre: Almeida Theatre Ibsen trilogy
Little Eyolf is the third Ibsen play that Eyre has adapted, directed and reinvigorated at the Almeida, and it's got a lot to live up to. Hedda Gabler (2005) was such a hit it transferred to the West End, then Ghosts (2013) followed suit, adding a trio of Oliviers to Eyre's many accolades.
Little Eyolf play: London 2015
As one of Ibsen's last plays, Little Eyolf goes beyond the realism for which the Norwegian playwright is famed. With a bewitching strand of surrealism and folkloric influences, it tells the tale of Rita and Alfred Allmers and their crippled son, the titular Little Eyolf. But when the strange, mythical Rat-Wife arrives, the family's lives are changed irrevocably and Alfred's role as father and husband is cast into sharp focus.
Already surprisingly modern, the play offers rich scope for the radical reworking of classics we have come to expect from the Almeida. As Eyre has already wrung out and reworked Ibsen's work to great success, expect an arrestingly fresh adaptation.
Little Eyolf: Almeida cast
Having worked with Richard Eyre on the BBC's Hollow Crown, actor Jolyon Coy will team up with the director again to play Alfred. He will be joined by Tony-nominated Lydia Leonard, who impressed as Anne Boleyn in the stage adaptation of Wolf Hall & Bring up the Bodies (RSC, West End and Broadway).
| What | Little Eyolf, Almeida Theatre |
| Where | Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, Islington, London, N1 1TA | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Highbury & Islington (underground) |
| When |
19 Nov 15 – 09 Jan 16, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM |
| Price | £10 - £35 |
| Website | Click here to book via the Almeida Theatre |
