Heda Gabler

Returning from their honeymoon, ambitious scholar Jørgen Tesman moves into a brand-new luxurious villa that everyone envies him for. But above all, they envy his wife: the distant, dazzlingly beautiful Hedda. The famous Hedda Gabler, desired by every man in elite circles, though none of them ever seemed good enough for her. And now, against all expectations, she has married Jørgen Tesman. Yet his academic career—the one meant to finance Hedda’s comfortable life—suddenly falters. From the shadows of the past emerges Eilert Løvborg, Jørgen’s former friend and a man of extraordinary talent, who, with the support of Thea Elvsted, has risen from the depths of alcoholism and is striving once again for success. The tension grows as they all meet in the Tesmans’ villa. Hedda begins a dangerous game of manipulation and intrigue, seeking to gain control not only over the lives of others, but also over her own.

Ibsen’s 1890 drama caused a huge stir at its premiere. The play about a “monster in female form” was fiercely criticized by both audiences and critics. Over time, however, it has become one of the most frequently performed works of Norway’s greatest dramatist. Now, for the first time in its history, the J. K. Tyl Theatre brings this story to the stage—in a new adaptation by young theatre-makers. Through Ibsen’s work, they explore questions that resonate with today’s generation of thirty-somethings, who collapse under the weight of unfulfilled dreams and the fear of failure—a generation lost in its own ambitions, desperately searching for meaning in a modern society that demands the impossible.