By Henrik Ibsen
A new version by Patrick Marber
From a literal translation by Karin and Ann Bamborough
Directed by Molly Atkinson
This production contains alcohol use disorder, audible gunshots, as well as conversation and depictions of suicide. Haze is used during the production.
“I WANTED TO KNOW EVERYTHING I WAS FORBIDDEN TO KNOW.”
The honeymoon is over, and Hedda Gabler is already bored with her husband and the respectable life he represents. When an old rival arrives on the scene, Hedda seizes the chance to challenge what society would have her accept as “happiness,” instead asserting her powerful will and wreaking havoc on everyone in her reach. Henrik Ibsen’s masterwork shocked late-19th-century audiences with its complex portrait of female identity and independence, while gifting us with one of theatre’s great tragic characters.
“Hedda is not interested in living the life a woman is expected to live. She has questionable morals and romantic ideals. She is brave and a coward. She wants to know all of your secrets and wants to punish you for telling her.” —Director Molly Atkinson
Hedda Gabler Study Guide
The 2024 Season is supported by Ophelia Lazaridis.
Production Sponsors:
M. Fainer
Three generations of the Schubert Family
Birmingham Conservatory, 2000
2024: Hedda in Hedda Gabler and Eva, Duchess in The Diviners. 15th season. Sara is delighted to return to the Festival following a year playing Sally in the original Broadway company of Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt. Stratford: Shakespeare's Juliet, Olivia, Cordelia, Jessica, Rosalind; Elizabeth/Robyn (Serving Elizabeth), Ruth (Blithe Spirit), Célimène (The Misanthrope), Wendy (Peter Pan), Madame de Tourvel (Dangerous Liaisons), Gwendolyn (The Importance of Being Earnest), Laurencia (Fuente Ovejuna), Mabel (An Ideal Husband). Broadway: Cecily in Travesties, Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest. Off Broadway: Beatrice-Joanna in The Changeling. In the UK: Love Me Do (Dorothy), Intimate Apparel (Mrs. Van Buren). Elsewhere: Two seasons at the Shaw Festival playing Saint Joan and Ann Whitfield in Man And Superman, Beatrice at The Old Globe, Titania and Ariel at Shakespeare Theatre DC and many other worldwide adventures! Et cetera: For B, always.
Langham Directors' Workshop, 2019; Birmingham Conservatory, 2011/2012
2024: Lovborg in Hedda Gabler and understudy in London Assurance. Ninth season. Stratford: Assistant Director, The Crucible; Principals, Henry VIII, Ideal Husband, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julius Caesar, Virgin Trial, Shakespeare in Love, Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, She Stoops to Conquer, King Lear, Othello; appeared, Bakkhai, Diary of Anne Frank, Oedipus Rex, Midsummer Night's Dream, Mary Stuart, Measure for Measure, Cymbeline, Elektra. Elsewhere: Draco, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child (Mirvish); Tybalt, Romeo and Juliet (Neptune); Darcy, Pride and Prejudice (Grand). Directing:4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love Suicide, Fleeto, Oh, the Humanity (Tiny Room); Henry IV: I, Caesar, Dream (Perchance); Leisure Society, Autobahn, Stendhal Syndrome (c2c). Associate Directing: Lear, Measure for Measure, Winter's Tale (Groundling). Film/TV: Reign (CW); Republic of Doyle, Diverted, Above & Beyond (CBC). Training: BFA (Acting), University of Alberta.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2002
2024: Tesman in Hedda Gabler and Anthony Calderon in Salesman in China. 15th season. Stratford (selected): Calogero Di Spelta (Grand Magic), Don Armado (Love's Labour's Lost), Iago (Othello), Dr. Caius (The Merry Wives of Windsor), James Tyrone Jr. (Long Day's Journey Into Night), God the Son (Paradise Lost), Pentheus (Bakkhai), Laurent (Tartuffe), Biondello (The Taming of the Shrew), Scrub (The Beaux' Stratagem), Andrei (Three Sisters), Apollodorus (Caesar and Cleopatra), Roderigo (Othello), Flaminius (Timon of Athens). Elsewhere: A&R Angels (Crow's Theatre); Pride and Prejudice, Robin Hood (Globe Theatre); A Doll's House (Montgomery/TNB). Film/TV: Fargo, Suits, Republic of Doyle, Murdoch Mysteries, The Ron James Show, Warehouse 13, Lost Girl. Training: National Theatre School of Canada; Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Awards: Tyrone Guthrie Award (2003, 2007, 2018), John Hirsch Award (2004) and the Richard Monette Travel Grant (2009).
Birmingham Conservatory, 2024
2024: Mrs. Elvsted in Hedda Gabler and appears in London Assurance. Third season. Stratford: Lula Green in Wedding Band, Yvette Longpré in Les Belles-Soeurs, Death and the King's Horseman. Training: Acting Conservatory, York University, 2012 (BFA); Factory Theatre Mechanicals. Awards: 9-time Winner of Toronto Queen of Carnival. Online: @joellacrichton. Et cetera: Thank you to the Stratford Festival. For Solomon.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2017/18
2024: Posthumus Leonatus in Cymbeline and understudy in Hedda Gabler. Sixth season. Stratford: Richard II, Love's Labour's Lost, Grand Magic, All's Well That Ends Well, Richard III, Henry VIII, The Crucible, The Neverending Story, An Ideal Husband, Julius Caesar, To Kill a Mockingbird. Elsewhere (selected): Montague/Steve in Serving Elizabeth (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Eribo in The Neverending Story (NAC); Othello in Othello (Driftwood Theatre); Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost, Leontes in The Winter's Tale (Dauntless City Theatre); Aaron in Titus Andronicus (Seven Siblings Theatre); Lysander and Robin Starveling in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Humber River Shakespeare). Film/TV: The Kings of Napa (OWN); The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu); Mayday (Discovery); See No Evil (Discovery ID). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre; Brock University (Performance Concentration). Et cetera: Love, peace, and SOULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL TRAIN.
(he/him) Birmingham Conservatory, 2012/13
2024: Philario, Jailer in Cymbeline, Lazarus in The Diviners and understudy in Hedda Gabler. 11th season. Josue is a Métis actor, teaching artist and mask maker from the traditional territory of the Dane-zaa, Treaty 8, Fort St. John, BC. Stratford: Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, Hamlet, Death and the King's Horseman, Merry Wives of Windsor, Front Page, Comedy of Errors, Napoli Milionaria!, Tempest, Timon of Athens, Madwoman of Chaillot, The Changeling, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Aeneid, Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labour's Lost, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Beaux' Stratagem, Mary Stuart, Measure for Measure, Othello. Vancouver: 4 seasons at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival; The Exquisite Hour (Relephant); Wizard of Oz, Seussical (Carousel); The Emperor's New Threads (Axis). Training: Birmingham Conservatory, Director Martha Henry; Studio 58; Canadian National Voice Intensive. Twitter: @josuelaboucane. Instagram: @laboucanej.
(she/her)
2024: Soldier in Cymbeline and understudy in Hedda Gabler and The Diviners. 14th season. Stratford: 13 seasons including Lady of the Lake in Monty Python's Spamalot, Velma Kelly in Chicago, Janet in The Rocky Horror Show, Maggie in A Chorus Line, Sally Simpson in Tommy, Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street. Elsewhere: In 2019 Jennifer revived the role of Sally Simpson in The Who's Tommy In Concert, performing alongside Pete Townshend at The La Jolla Playhouse. She has also performed on stages across Canada: The Shaw Festival, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Charlottetown Festival, Grand Theatre, Theatre Aquarius, Drayton Entertainment, Ross Petty Productions and YES Theatre. Training: Music Theatre Performance (Sheridan), Acting (Red Deer College). Awards: Recipient of the 2022 William Needles award. Et cetera: All my love to Robert, Josephine, Mom and Dad. Thanks as always to Bruce and TH.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2010/2011
2024: Iachimo in Cymbeline, Gus in The Diviners and understudy in Hedda Gabler. Ninth season. Stratford: Love's Labour's Lost, Grand Magic, Richard II, Hamlet, Death and the King's Horseman, School for Scandal, Timon of Athens, Merchant of Venice, She Stoops to Conquer, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Anne Frank, Oedipus Rex, Hay Fever, Three Musketeers, Much Ado, Henry V, Grapes of Wrath. Elsewhere:15 Dogs (Crow's Theatre); A Few Good Men (Drayton); The Matchmaker (Arts Club); Sleuth (Mayfield); Stag and Doe (Neptune); The Gamblers (Talk Is Free); Chasse-Galerie (Storefront/Soulpepper). Film/TV/Video Games: Caillou, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Redwall, Wind at My Back. Training: Circle in the Square, Birmingham Conservatory, UofT. Et cetera: Tyrone dedicates this season to his parents Booth and Janet-Laine. With love beyond measure.
Adaptor: Hedda Gabler
Patrick Marber was born in London, 1964. He is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and director. His work has won Evening Standard, Olivier, Time Out, New York and London Critics' Circle, and Writers' Guild Awards. He received the British Independent Film Award for his screenplay of Notes on a Scandal. His play, Closer, has been produced globally in over 200 cities and was released as a feature film directed by Mike Nichols. Patrick directed Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt in the West End and on Broadway where he won the Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (2023). Other plays: Dealer's Choice, Howard Katz, The Red Lion, Three Days in the Country, The Musicians, The School Film, After Miss Julie, Don Juan in Soho. Stage adaptations include versions of Hedda Gabler, Exit the King and The Beaux' Stratagem (NT); Trelawny of the Wells (Donmar). As director: Nachtland (Young Vic), Pandemonium (Soho Theatre), Habeas Corpus (Menier Chocolate Factory); Dealer's Choice (NT/Vaudeville); After Miss Julie (BBC); Closer (NT/Lyric/Music Box NY); 1953 (Almeida); Blue Remembered Hills, Howard Katz, Three Days in the Country, Exit The King(NT); The Old Neighborhood (Royal Court); The Caretaker (Comedy); Travesties (Menier/Apollo/Broadway); Don Juan in Soho (Wyndham's); Venus in Fur (Theatre Royal Haymarket).
(she/her) Birmingham Conservatory, 1999
2024: Director of Hedda Gabler. Second season. Stratford: Hamlet, As You Like It, Titus Andronicus. Elsewhere: Directing: Prince Caspian, AChristmas Carol 2018-2022, Hello Out There (Shaw Festival); Peter Pan, The Little Prince (Yellow Door Theatre Project). Assistant Directing: Saint Joan, Middletown (Shaw Festival). Acting: Molly has worked for Soulpepper Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Young People's Theatre and Tarragon Theatre. Film/TV: It, It Chapter Two, Nurses, Road to Avonlea, Copper, Haven. Training: National Theatre School, Birmingham Conservatory 1999. Et cetera: Love to my boys - Holden, Tennyson and Gray.
2024: Set and costume designer of Hedda Gabler, set and lighting designer of London Assurance. 11th season. Stratford: Grand Magic-set and lighting; The Miser-lighting; A Midsummer Night's Dream-costumes; Mother's Daughter-set and costumes; Two Gentlemen of Verona-set and lighting; The Front Page, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Timon of Athens, Agamemnon, Electra, Bereav'd of Light, Fellini Radio Plays, Walk Right Up, Shadows-set; The Flies-set and costumes. Elsewhere: Set: My Fair Lady (Shaw Festival); Set and lighting: De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail (Soulpepper); Set: Sound of Music (Citadel/RMTC); Universal Child Care (Quote Unquote Collective/Canadian Stage); Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre/Shaw/Barbican). Awards: Five Dora Awards. Online: www.lorenzosavoini.com.Et cetera: Member of the Associated Designers of Canada.
(she/they)
2024: Lighting designer of Hedda Gabler and The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? 11th season. Stratford: Little Women, Cabaret Series 2021, Othello, The Comedy of Errors. Elsewhere: Love You Wrong Time (Bad Muse Collective); After the Fire (Punctuate, The Theatre Centre); Kinky Boots, The Prom, Ghost, Honk! (Drayton Entertainment); Salt-Water Moon (Mirvish, Factory, Why Not); Wildfire (RARE, Soulpepper); The Emancipation of Ms. Lovely, The Breath in Between (Crow's); Superior Donuts (Coal Mine); Laurier (Charlottetown Festival, TNB); Beaver (Storefront); Noises Off (Soulpepper); A Line in the Sand, The Crackwalker (Factory Theatre); Hana Hashimoto (Carousel Players). Kaileigh is the founding General Manager of the annual winter light festival, Lights On Stratford. They are an instructor at the National Theatre School of Canada, and the School of Performance in the Faculty of Communication and Design at Toronto Metropolitan University and a member of ADC IATSE Local 659.
2024: Composer and sound designer of Hedda Gabler. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Sound design for The Seventh Fire (Delinquent/Neworld Theatre); Someone Like You (Arts Club Theatre); The Mixolydian (Green Thumb Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare in Love, Lysistrata (Bard on the Beach); Clean/Espejos (Neworld Theatre); The Herd (Tarragon/Citadel Theatre); A Christmas Carol, The Candidate (Citadel Theatre); Good Things to Do (Delinquent Theatre). Training: MFA in Musical Theatre Composition from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, BFA in Acting from the University of British Columbia. Awards: Jessie Award: Stationary - Delinquent Theatre, Jabber - Green Thumb Theatre; Horace W. Goldsmith Fellowship - NYU. Online: www.mishellecuttler.com. Et cetera: Mishelle is the West Coast Board Representative for the Associated Designers of Canada. Thank you to Kyle for your love and support.
2024: Fight and intimacy director of the 2024 season. Seventh season. Stratford: Fight director of The Rez Sisters and intimacy director of Serving Elizabeth (2021); Fight director for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Selected Fight/Intimacy Director Credits: 3 Sisters (Soulpepper); Bad Roads (Crow's); WildWoman (Soulpepper); Hamlet (The Rose); Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes (TIP); Fall on Your Knees (Canadian Stage/Neptune/NAC); Maggie (Theatre Aquarius); Counter Offence (Segal Centre); Fairview (Canadian Stage); Prodigal (Crow's); Trojan Girls & The Outhouse of Atreus (Factory); Our Place (Cahoots/TPM); Kronborg (Confederation Centre). Other: Stage combat instructor, fight director, and sexual choreographer at the National Theatre School. Selected Stunt Performer/Stunt Actor Credits: Law and Order: Toronto, SEE, Star Trek: Discovery, Pretty Hard Cases, Titans, The Boys, Rabbit Hole, What We Do in the Shadows, various Ubisoft motion capture productions. Online: anitanittoly.com.
2024: Associate fight director of the 2024 season. Third season. Stratford (selected):King Lear, Richard III, Little Women. Elsewhere: Hamlet (Hit & Myth Productions); The Amen Corner (Shaw Festival); Romeo and Juliet (National Theatre School); Girl in the Photograph (Chameleon Productions). Selected Film and TV (Acting and Stunts):FUBAR, The Fabric of Christmas, Chucky, Far Cry 6, Mayor of Kingstown, Reacher, Revenge of the Black Best Friend, The Hot Zone, The Boys, Dark Matter, Kill Joys, Teen Titans, Lucky Day, Amazing Race Canada, Frankie Drake. Training: Humber Theatre Performance program, various martial arts schools, acting for film and TV at the renown Pro Actors Lab in Toronto. Online: Instagram: @davidchinchillaofficial.
2024: Assistant set and costume designer of Hedda Gabler. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Costume production manager for Mary Poppins (Orpheus Musical Theatre Society). Wardrobe assistant for The Book of Will (Ottawa Little Theatre). Assistant costume designer for Cinderella (Two Rivers Musical Productions). Training: BA. Honours in Theatre (Costume Studies) from Dalhousie University's Fountain School of Performing Arts. Et cetera: Rachel would like to thank her family, friends and colleagues for supporting her theatrical journey.
2024: Assistant lighting designer of Cymbeline, Hedda Gabler and The Diviners. Second season. Stratford: Assistant lighting designer of Grand Magic and Wedding Band. Lighting designer of Langham DWP's A Tennessee Williams Suite and The Fall of the House of Atreus: A Cowboy Love Song. Elsewhere: Assistant lighting designer of Peter's Final Flight (Ross Petty Productions) and Contemporaneity (Anandam Dance Theatre). Lighting designer of Inheritance of Dance (Yi Dance), Do You Think You're Better Than Me? (Fringe), The Late Wedding (Theatre at York), Fruits of Labour (Devised Theatre Festival), Art of Time (Dance at York), Music Media Concert (MMC York), and Thirumagal. Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours in Theatre Production from York University. Awards: Canadian College Cricket Women's Nationals MVP and Women's Ontario Cup MVP & Best Bowler 2019. Online: simrankapooroffici.wixsite.com/simran-kapoor. Et cetera: Love and gratitude to Mom, Grandma, Steve and Gavin.
2024: Stage manager of Hedda Gabler. 26th season. Stratford (selected): Monty Python's Spamalot, Death and the King's Horseman, Nathan the Wise, An Ideal Husband, Treasure Island, The Breathing Hole, Breath of Kings: Rebellion, Carousel, Man of La Mancha, The Three Musketeers, Taking Shakespeare, Henry V, Hosanna, Peter Pan, Cabaret, South Pacific and My One and Only. Elsewhere: Max's career spans over 30 years, including work with Citadel Theatre, the Canadian Opera Company, Canadian Stage, the Toronto International Film Festival, Young People's Theatre and Mirvish Productions. Training: University of Lethbridge, MacEwan University. Awards: 2012 and 2017 Guthrie Awards. Et cetera: Max runs the e-commerce division of ravenvision.ca, Canada's leading purveyor of orchid growing supplies.
2024: Assistant stage manager of Cymbeline and Hedda Gabler. Fourth season. Stratford: Assistant stage manager of Grand Magic, Love's Labour's Lost and the Langham Directors' Workshop Presentation (2023). Apprentice stage manager of All's Well That Ends Well and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Elsewhere: Stage manager of Adam's Unplugged Puppet Party (The Pucking Fuppets Co.); The '94 Club (Crave Productions); Folks Like Us (Victoria Playhouse Petrolia). Assistant stage manager of La Bête and The Other Place (Talk Is Free Theatre). Apprentice stage manager of Light (Tarragon Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Sudbury Theatre Centre); Come Down From Up River (Theatre Orangeville); Driving Miss Daisy (Victoria Playhouse Petrolia). Training: BFA with Honours in Performance Production and Design, TMU. Awards: Karen P. Hay Award, 2023; Jean A. Chalmers Apprentice Achievement Award, 2022. Et cetera: Dedicated to the story and the storytellers.
2024: Apprentice stage manager of Hedda Gabler. Second season. Stratford: Tom Patterson Theatre production assistant. Elsewhere: Brianna has stage managed for Toronto Dance Theatre, Director's Lab North, Just For Laughs (Montreal), Encore, Toronto Fringe's 2021 Primetime Festival, and a few play development workshops. She has also worked as the assistant stage manager for TouchX (Kaeja Dance), the digital production coordinator for Toronto Fringe's 2022 Next Stage Festival and the dresser for Bentboy and Snow White (YPT). Training: McMaster University, Sociology/Theatre and Film; the National Theatre School of Canada, Production Design and Technical Arts.
2024: Production stage manager of the Tom Patterson Theatre. 24th season. Stratford: In Meghan's 20+ seasons, she has served as Production Stage Manager at all of the Festival's stages including the Tom Patterson Theatre Canopy (2021). She has worked on Paradise Lost, The Virgin Trial, The Tempest (2010), A Little Night Music, The Physicists, Jesus Christ Superstar and Tommy, among others. Training: Meghan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Production from York University. Elsewhere: Meghan stage-managed Light at Tarragon Theatre; and The Goator, Who is Sylvia? and The Virgin Trial at Soulpepper Theatre. She has worked at the National Arts Centre, Citadel Theatre, toured New Brunswick with TNB, and stage-managed car and industrial trade shows and concerts. Meghan sends big thanks and respect to Ella and Beatrice. Peter, we all miss you.
2024: Production assistant of the Tom Patterson Theatre. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Stage manager: The Phoenix Lottery (Theatre Aezir); Chicago, The Wizard of Oz (Theatre Western); God of Carnage (King's Players); Twelfth Night, Cymbeline (Summer Shakespeare); 7 Stories (ASTC). Abby has also been a producer, lighting designer, running crew, ASM, PA and actor. Training: Western University. Et cetera: Abby sends all her love to E, J and L - thank you for everything.
Sara Topham.
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