Hedda Gabler

“I'm terrified of the boredom of living here,” says Hedda Gabler. Where? In a half-finished house, which could be either being remodeled or in ruins. At the beginning of a marital life to which he committed himself without love. In a society that offers her roles that do not satisfy her. And in herself, who does not have the tools to transform that reality that she despises. 

Although more than a century has passed since its premiere in 1891, Hedda Gabler is still considered one of the most complex characters in theater. One that did not conform to the morals of his time or any. This well-off and dissatisfied woman who destroys her environment and herself has been played by great actresses such as Ingrid Bergman, Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert. Claudia di Girolamo played it 11 years ago under the direction of Víctor Carrasco, and now she is responsible for staging this new version, written by Alexis Moreno and with Amparo Noguera in the main role.

If Di Girolamo commissioned Moreno to create a new version of Henrik Ibsen's text, it was to rescue the everyday nature of the conversations. “It is the interior of the characters that stirs and convulses, not the words,” says the director. But the story remains the same: After a long honeymoon, Hedda settles in with her husband (Francisco Ossa) in their new house. Family (Gloria Münchmeyer) and friends (Marcela Salinas, Rolo Pulgar) arrive there, whom he despises. And his old love (Néstor Cantillana) reappears, a writer who struggles with alcohol and his demons, while Hedda pushes him to give himself to them.

"Hedda does not want to settle for the roles that are offered to her, nor access the same place as men in a world built by them, nor can she rebel with a political or social discourse, because she does not have one. She is not a feminist. She is the spark of feminism. She strongly senses that, in essence, she does not have a space of identity in a society that educated her in a conservative structure, and she does not have the tools to fight against that either," says Di Girolamo.

The gender problem was already identified by Ibsen in 1878, 13 years before the premiere of Hedda Gabler: "There are two codes of morality, two different consciences, one of the man and the other of the woman. And the woman is judged according to the code of men. A woman cannot be authentically herself in today's society, an exclusively male society, with exclusively male laws, with judges and prosecutors who judge her from the male point of view." 

But it is not only the feminine that interests Di Girolamo in this staging. "Just as there are women who in this world are incomplete, there are men in the world designed by men who are incomplete. And I am interested in seeing how those two worlds, those two personalities, are still separated today, they are unable to dialogue, despite sharing that emptiness. The love that existed before as a struggle for coexistence, does not even have a place today. I think that speaks about us. I think that the characters of Hedda Gabler represent so well what we experience as a society."

The precarious stage space of this production does not recreate an era but rather represents Hedda's inner chaos. The direction seeks to highlight the play and humor that lies in the text through unusual actions. “What has interested me most from the point of direction is to highlight the self-confidence of the unconscious and break the conventional and logical image,” adds Di Girolamo.

Hedda Gabler premieres on November 9 at the Biobío Regional Theater, where it will have two performances. This is the first time that GAM premieres one of its productions in the region, before the season in the capital.

Original text: Henrik Ibsen
Version: Alexis Moreno
Direction: Claudia di Girolamo
Cast: Amparo Noguera, Francisco Ossa, Néstor Cantillana, Marcela Salinas, Rodolfo Pulgar, Josefina Velasco and Gloria Münchmeyer.
Music: Miguel Miranda
Scenography and lighting design: Cristián Reyes
Costume design: Pablo Núñez
Director assistance: Javiera Mendoza
Costume production: Alexis Paredero
Costume production Women: Olivia Bustos
Tailor: René Riegga
Headdresses and accessories: Andy Moreno
General production: Freddy Araya 

THIS IS A GAM PRODUCTION 

* Photos Patricio Melo