Review: Ghosts, Jermyn Street Theatre

Despite the spooky, seasonal title, Ibsen’s classic family-based piece is not about spirits from the past, but life events and former acquaintances coming back to haunt you. The compact yet perfectly bijou setting of Jermyn St Theatre is a great location for this production, with the set design (Cara Evans) centred around the parlour room of the 1881 home of Mrs Helene Alving (Flora Montgomery). There are many room settings that could have been used to stage this production given the breadth of the story, and Evans decided to instead focus on the writing for the scene-setting and this works well, especially given the constraints of the space available.

Mrs Alving’s maid, Regina Engstrand (Cecilia Appiah) is found at the start preparing the home in readiness for the grand arrival of Pastor Manders (Oliver Alvin-Wilson), who’s making his way over by ferry to officiate at the opening of an orphanage in memory of Mrs Alving’s late husband. Matters are interrupted by Regina’s father, local carpenter Jacob Engstrand (Peter F. Gardiner), with the two at loggerheads, hinting at some long-held tension between the two. Some Scottish accents are slightly questionable here, dipping in and out, and it’s not hugely clear why they are Scottish when none of the other characters have any hint of an accent, and there’s no mention of Scotland at any other point.

A rather slow start to proceedings allows us to get to know the character’s backstories and connections, and there is a gradual build in tension between them all. Alvin-Wilson is impressive as the stoic Pastor, attempting to maintain a good impression and be a pillar of society despite some challenges to his faith by those around him. It’s clear that the Pastor knows more than he’s letting on and it’s only when Mrs Alving arrives that his true feelings begin to show. Montgomery is sensational throughout as the family matriarch, full of Victorian-era coldness, attempting to maintain her reputation, dignity, and household in the absence of her late-Husband, yet the arrival of the Pastor seems to alter her demeanour. Meanwhile, her son Oswald (Joe Pitts) has just returned home after a lengthy absence, seemingly kept at arm’s length throughout his life so far. The relationship between mother and son is believable, there’s even a family resemblance, which adds to the sense of reality.

As time passes, tensions and emotions build between the Pastor and Mrs Alving and we learn some truths about their past relationship, with them brought together by the behaviour of the now-departed Mr Alving. This is cleverly portrayed, with the viewer allowed to use their imagination as to what the extent of their relationship once was. 

There is a strong narrative throughout, as you would expect from Ibsen, who generally wrote about the moral hypocrisy of the middle classes in Norway at the time, and this has been maintained in this modern version by Richard Eyre and Kwame Owusu. That being said, there is an element of humour added, whether intentional or not, which takes the edge off the rather serious storyline.

The incredible talents of Montgomery and Pitts come to the fore in the dramatic final scenes, with the raw emotion of their characters being palpable. As bows are taken, it’s clear that the pair have invested their all into their characters and it takes a few seconds for them to compose themselves. And given the nature of the ending, it’s the same for us in the audience too. A firm reminder that low-budget, intimate performances like this are often far, far superior to their bolder, brassier, budget-busting counterparts. Excellent.

Written by Henrik Ibsen
Directed by Kwame Owusu
Adapted by Richard Eyre
Set Design by Cara Evans
Costume Design by Natalie Johnson
Lighting Design by Ben Ormerod
Composer/Sound Design by Francesca Amewudah-Rivers

Ghosts plays at Jermyn Street Theatre until Saturday 14 November.