Following on from a much celebrated sold-out run at the National Theatre earlier this year this new version of Ibsen’s iconic Hedda Gabler arrives at the Lowry until Saturday 4th November.

Reimagined by Olivier and Tony Award-winner Patrick Marber and directed by Ivo van Hove, also an Olivier and Tony award-winner, the production is modernised and accessible yet still stays true to Ibsen’s original work.

Newlywed Hedda (Lizzy Watts) is bored, admitting she ‘settled’ because she felt old, the absolute last thing she actually feels by this marriage and her life however is settled. She’s retuned to a place that suffocating and soulless, a new home where nothing yet has it’s place, certainly not Hedda.

Overcome constantly by the desire to control and take charge of everyone and everything around her Hedda thrives on the destruction of harmony. Constantly battling the demons within, Hedda’s release seems to come from hurting, upsetting and even destroying others. She can be cruel yet is clearly damaged, sharp yet desperately vulnerable, wild yet ultimately trapped.

Hedda wants to be free, she wants the freedom she sees men have yet everyone wants a piece of her, they want to touch her, to be with her, to dictate what she does with her body, to claim ownership. Marber’s focus on Hedda’s relationships offers a real depth to this piece as an audience we try to understand and even sympathise with the damaged, manipulative and often cruel Hedda. She tempts the alcoholic to drink, twists concern for mistrust and family love for suffocating meddling.

Lizzy Watts portrays Hedda beautifully, she shines in the cleverly reimagined production, she is feisty yet vulnerable, struggling with demons which consume her entirely, she is cruel yet clever captivating the audience entirely as she physically embodies the torment and complexity of Hedda, she looks uncomfortable in her own skin as the world weighs down all around her and her inner turmoil threatens to consume. Supported by an incredibly strong cast this is a truly impressive performance.

National Theatre continue to raise the bar high with this bold, atmospheric and entirely engaging production. Jan Versweyveld’s set and lighting design are both superb, the apartment is a sparsely furnished box, which we never leave, almost becoming asylum like as the piece develops and further illustration of Hedda’s confinement and absolute boredom with life where even the timid Thea has the courage to follow her heart. Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” plays between scenes, a further gentle nod to Hedda’s dissatisfaction with her lot.

National Theatre entirely succeed in making a play familiar to so many feel entirely fresh and unpredictable. Powerful, intense and utterly captivating.

On at The Lowry until Saturday 4th November tickets available here www.thelowry.com/events/hedda-gabler