Stage: John Gabriel Borkman (Dublin)

In a new version by Frank McGuinness
Abbey Theatre; Dublin; October 6 — November 20, 2010

John Gabriel Borkman premiered in Ireland on the occasion of the centenary of Ibsen’s birth—in April 1928. “[I]t was hard to reconcile oneself,’ wrote the drama reviewer of the Evening Herald on that occasion, “that Ibsen in these countries is not popular in the ordinary … meaning of the term” (J.W.Good, April 4, 1928). “But that night was an exception. Warmed up by the presence of the Norwegian dignitaries, and charmed by the professionalism of the Abbey actors, the public let go of their grudges and applauded loudly.” Suddenly, noted the reviewer with just a hint of irony, “Ibsen was popular.”

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