AustLit

'Ibsen’s “Wild Duck” is perhaps not so well known as his “Ghosts” or “The Doll’s House,” but it displays every facet of Ibsen’s many-sided talent. It concerns itself with the problem of “Truth versus Illusions,” a theme which Ibsen handles with dispassionate skill. Hjalmar Ekdal is happy in his illusions, then the young Idealist, Gregers Werle, who believes in the reality of the ideal, enters his life. Gregers Werle believes that real happiness is impossible without truth, honesty, and sincerity—at the end of the play, he, like the audience, is left wondering! The clever psychology of the plot, and the deft characterisation, render “The Wild Duck” a play of absorbing interest. Little Hedvig, the fourteen-year old daughter of Hjalmar Ekdal, is unforgettable in her loving wistfulness.'

Source: [Radio guide], Wireless Weekly, 7 December 1934, p.31.

An adaptation of Ibsen's play of the same name.

'Are there some truths it’s better not to know?

Winner of three Helpmann Awards (2011) and four Sydney Theatre Awards (2011), this taut, stripped-back rendition of a modern classic never lets up. Director Simon Stone has developed from a wunderkind of Melbourne’s indie theatre to an established force on Australia’s mainstages. Here he transplants Ibsen’s characters into the contemporary world in a new play tailor-made for an astonishing cast led by Ewen Leslie.

Hjalmar Ekdal grew up rich but scandal cast him into poverty. Now he lives in a tiny flat with his father, his wife, his daughter and a duck. When his old friend Gregers Werle returns with unfinished business, the truth Gregers brings could shatter the world Hjalmar has built around himself.

A bittersweet portrait of family dysfunction, deception and denial, The Wild Duck resounds for a new age.' (Source: Malthouse Theatre website)

'The story follows a man who returns home to discover a long-buried family secret, and whose attempts to put things right threaten the lives of those he left home years before.' (Production summary)