Review: The Lady from the Sea, Bridge Theatre

Simon Stone’s reimagining of Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea puts it in a modern setting, keeping the themes of freedom, identity and marriage whilst throwing in a few extra things to think about just for good measure.

Edward (Andrew Lincoln) and his friend Lyle (John McMillan) are both eminent neurologists. Edward has two teenage daughters from his first marriage who are a bit prickly towards second wife Ellida (Alicia Vikander). A distant relative (fourth cousin or some such), Heath (Joe Alwyn), has turned up for a diagnosis and seems to be hanging around as he quite likes the family and does not have a positive relationship with his own parents. The last character is Finn (Brendan Cowell) a former lover of Ellida. He appears for the second half to throw an extra spanner in the works of the familial tensions.

As you would expect with this cast, there are strong performances all round, with Gracie Oddie–James and Isobel Akuwudike as sassy daughters Asa (Oddie-James) and Hilda (Akuwudike) stealing every scene they are in. Lizzie Clachan’s set is a pristine glowing white for the first half, changing to black for the darker events in part two: yes a bit obvious, but probably necessary for the equipment required for an impressive rainstorm and conversion of the stage to a swimming pool, both of which are done really well. It is somewhat distracting though, leaving the performance area very wet and looking a bit slippery. After one small slippage, there were times when I was focusing more on the safety implications rather than the events being portrayed. The atmospheric music and sound by Stefan Gregory and Nick Schlieper’s striking lighting design contribute greatly to the mood.

It seems almost as though there are two plays running parallel. The character of Ellida is a bit lost and forlorn compared to her two outgoing and outspoken stepdaughters. Her background and life as a former teenage eco warrior is gradually revealed, including one particularly dark incident which is catching up with her, forcing her to evaluate her current situation and make a life changing decision. In contrast, the play about family dynamics is lively, very witty, with amusing characters and some great throwaway lines that elicit quite a lot of laughter from the audience. However, the laughter continued to break out in places that were, perhaps, inappropriate, in scenes probably not meant to be funny, reflecting the blurred divisions of the storylines. Even the cast looked a bit surprised a couple of times.

There is a lot going on in the play. The freedom of women to make decisions that enable fulfilled lives is addressed in the daughters’ situations as well as Ellida’s. One wonders if their father’s overly protective attitude would be the same if they were teenage boys. The influence of the past on future actions – a recurring theme for all of the characters – and numerous other subjects such as climate change, assisted dying, race, responsibilities regarding the age of consent, are all mentioned in passing, but after their initial introduction not really scrutinised in any depth, despite the three hour running time.

Although ultimately somewhat unsatisfying, having too many questions raised without their being fully explored, this is still an enjoyable evening, funny and thought-provoking, with an excellent set and performances.

Written by Simon Stone after Henrik Ibsen
Directed by Simon Stone
Produced by Wouter van Ransbeek
Set Design by Lizzie Clachan
Composition and Sound Design by Stefan Gregory
Lighting Design by Nick Schlieper

The Lady from the Sea plays at the Bridge Theatre until Saturday 8 November.