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Dates and Venue 28 Oct - 7 Nov 2009, 8pm | TELUS Studio Theatre, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, UBC Director Gerald Vanderwoude Set Design Ana Luisa Espinoza Vaca Sound Design Cristina Istrate Lighting Craig Alfredson Costume Design Alison Green Stage Manager Maria Fumano Reviewer Jane Penistan |
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This new adaptation and translation of Ibsen’s The Master Builder by Errol Durbach, was received enthusiastically by the first night audience at The Telus Theatre. The almost bare stage and few props left the major impact of this new translation up to the very accomplished cast, assisted by beautiful costumes and the clever, artistic use of lighting. Gerald Vanderwoude brought everything together in a most impressive premier presentation. It
was a delight to see several of the actors returning to the University
stage after long absences. Chris Humphreys, as the Master Builder, Halvard
Solness, led the company in a powerful performance. His egotistical
authority and arrogance and his apparent antipathy to anyone rivaling
his dominance in any form were ably demonstrated, as was his underlying
fear of a challenge to his supremacy as a master of all he surveyed.
Was he really remembering or accepting Hilde’s version of his vigorous past? She cast a spell over Halvard, and everyone else. The last act was a dramatic crescendo of tension leading up to the inevitable fall of the Master Builder and held the audience in thrall, before a rousing ovation. © 2009 Jane Penistan |
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