An uncompromising ‘Hedda Gabler' at Apollinaire

Boston Globe

04-03-2025

In that, she has much in common with most other women in the late 19th century. But Hedda is not most other women, and
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That approach gives an actor a lot of interpretive running room, and Jennings makes the most of that license. She doesn't attempt to soften Hedda' s hard edges. The default expression of this Hedda is a sneer; when in conversation, she doesn't so much speak words as bite them off.
Yet though Jennings's Hedda does not seek the audience's sympathy, she nonetheless receives a portion of it. This is partly because the performance by Jennings is so compelling; partly because we in the audience are aware of what women have had to fight for and against in all times and places; and partly, perhaps, because we believe Hedda when she says, in a moment of bleak self-awareness, 'I have no talent for life.'
A decade before 'Hedda Gabler,' Ibsen had written 'A Doll's House,' also about a woman who takes drastic action to escape the suffocating life she finds herself in. It's a testament to Ibsen's greatness that he managed to make both plays utterly distinctive, for all their surface similarity. Both plays have something to say to present-day audiences; just two years ago Jessica Chastain starred in
As 'Hedda Gabler' begins, Hedda is newly wed, to George Tesman (Conall Sahler), and none too happy about it.
George is an ebullient and well-meaning but somewhat obtuse academic. Sahler gives a fine performance overall, but in his first scene on Sunday he nearly shouted his lines, making it seem like he was acting in a different play altogether. (The effect was intensified because his entrance followed a scene with Paola Ferrer, as George's aunt Julianna, that went too far in the other direction, its starchy formality teetering on the verge of stiffness.) Sahler lowered the volume as the performance went on.
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The daughter of a general, and thus accustomed to the finer things, Hedda is starting to realize that she married a mediocrity, and is chafing — seething, actually — at the thought that her fate is to live in reduced circumstances.
Making matters worse is the fact that her erstwhile lover Eilert Lovborg (an elegant Joshua Lee Robinson) has written an acclaimed best-seller described as 'a cultural history of the march of civilization,' and is working on a follow-up book — achievements that might bring Lovborg the university professorship that George is hoping for.
To Hedda's unhappiness is added jealousy when she learns that Thea Elvsted (Kimberly Blaise MacCormack), a former schoolmate whom she used to torment, is assisting Lovborg with research and has forged a close relationship with him. But Lovborg is an alcoholic who has had a precarious hold on sobriety for two years — and that precariousness turns out to matter a great deal.
Then there's the outwardly amiable but opportunistic and ultimately predatory Judge Brack (
qui vive
for a way he can manipulate the situation to his advantage and outmaneuver Hedda.
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Judge Brack (Cristhian Mancinas-García), Eilert Lovborg (Joshua Lee Robinson), and George Tesman (Conall Sahler).
Danielle Fauteux Jacques
The sexual dynamics are more overt than usual in this staging of 'Hedda Gabler.' This Brack knows Hedda can't push back against his overtures, and takes full advantage when they're alone to make physical contact, fondling her a couple of times. At one point, he menacingly closes in behind her when the two of them are behind a piano, sending the chilling message that he now has her in his complete power. It works, because Jacques knows where to draw the line at updating the nonverbal action, never letting it stray into sensationalism.
Apollinaire's performance space at Chelsea Theatre Works is a very small one. For performers and audience alike, there's no place to hide. (When they're not in a scene, cast members sit on chairs on either side of the stage.) That intimacy lends a visceral force to the proceedings in 'Hedda Gabler,' including one of the most famous gunshots in theater history.
Like many fringe theater companies, Apollinaire is a DIY operation all the way. Before Sunday's matinee, Jacques was working the ticket counter, along with actor-director Brooks Reeves, an Apollinaire regular.
Then, in the moments before the performance began, with the stage shrouded in semi-darkness, Jacques stood in a hallway to the right of the audience, watching closely as members of the cast moved parts of the set – furniture, bouquets of flowers – into position.
Only after every set piece was in place did Jacques turn and walk back up the hallway. (The handsome set was designed by Joseph Lark-Riley, who also handled the sound design. The period-perfect costume design is by Elizabeth Rocha.)
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After the performance and the curtain call, the cast walked up that same hallway, single file. As they were about to disappear from view, Jennings audibly exhaled — a very different sound from that roar near the start of the play. Perhaps it reflected the actor's relief that she could finally relax after a draining hour and 45 minutes onstage. Or perhaps it was an expression of satisfaction at a job well done. If the former, she was certainly entitled. If the latter, it was certainly justified.
HEDDA GABLER
Play by Henrik Ibsen. Adapted by the company from the translation by Edmund Gosse and William Archer. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theatre Works, Chelsea. Through March 16. Tickets $25-$65. 617-887-2336,
Don Aucoin can be reached at