Hedda Gabler (TV) [1981] Diana Rigg

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Hedda Gabler (1981) (TV)


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450276/

Hedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama. A 1902 production was a major sensation on Broadway starring Minnie Maddern Fiske and following its initial limited run was revived with the actress the following year.

The character of Hedda is considered by some critics as one of the great dramatic roles in theatre, the "female Hamlet," and some portrayals have been very controversial. Depending on the interpretation, Hedda may be portrayed as an idealistic heroine fighting society, a victim of circumstance, a prototypical feminist, or a manipulative villain. It’s not a case of indecision that marks Henrik Ibsen’s heroine, but rather a complex series of motives that may in fact be merely spontaneous and even mysterious to the woman herself. It is this enigmatic quality that once inspired patriarchal criticisms of dramatic implausibility, as if a woman could not behave in such a clearly “irrational” way. The character was labeled a “demoness” for the same reason, her reckless, supposedly inexplicable behavior causing the death of a former lover through manipulative will. But this is very much the crux of the play’s attraction. With Hedda Gabler, Ibsen created a character that at once invited sympathy as well as revulsion. Hedda is never made to appear “nice” in any way, and in this fine Yorkshire Television production from 1980, Diana Rigg plays the title role without remorse. Her Hedda suffers no fools and appears ready to strike like a coiled snake.


Elizabeth Bell ... Thea Elvsted
Philip Bond ... Eilert Løvborg
Kathleen Byron ... Juliana Tesman
Alan Dobie ... Judge Brack
Denis Lill ... George Tesman (as Dennis Lill)
Diana Rigg ... Hedda Gabler
Rosalie Williams ... Berthe

It has always been a difficult role, since Hedda can appear to be villainous or worse yet, sphinx-like. This adaptation by John Osbourne (Look Back in Anger) attempts to present her fairly; not only sympathetically but also critically. It still seems odd to me that Osbourne has referred to Hedda as “a bourgeois snob and a walking waste of human personality. She is indolently evil and lives off her own fantasies, absorbing from people better than herself.” This is not the way Rigg plays the role and clearly not the effect achieved in the adaptation. Osbourne seems to want us to hate her, but perhaps Ibsen won out here.

When we first meet her, “Hedda Gabler” is already a memory. She has just returned from what seems to have been a miserable honeymoon as “Hedda Tesman”, the wife of the stiff academic, George Tesman (Dennis Lill). She appears bored, frustrated, and full of intellectual disgust with her dull academic husband. Initially, her behavior seems unreasonable and spiteful. In fact, she treats George’s aunt Julianne (Kathleen Byron) with open contempt, a direct social shock to both Julianne and George who can do nothing but humor the social transgression in response.

But it soon becomes apparent just what Hedda’s future will be all about. She can clearly see her rounds of dull social calls, visits to sickly relatives, and dinner parties full of pompous talk. She is clearly unable to accept her place within the shackles of marriage and the delicate rules of social life which confine her intellect and wit to the smallest space possible.

A veteran of both the theater and television, Diana Rigg is able to convey the character not only through voice and movement, but also brilliantly in close-ups where a simple glance or smirk allows us a peek into Hedda’s thoughts. We can clearly see when Hedda seems to be excited, afraid, or silently crafting her next move.

As a British television production from ‘80, Hedda Gabler suffers from much of the same flat video lighting and tinny sound recording that was common at the time, and it does not improve with its release on DVD. Cunliffe does a decent job covering the play in a standard three camera set up, but sacrifices movement for simple crosscutting. He does make very good use of close-ups, however, and is able to translate the play to televisual medium competently enough.

But it’s the costume design that’s most effective. Rigg is dressed in a series of outfits that seem to be cutting off her very breathing, with collars that hold tight around the neck like flowery chains. The effect is appropriately stifling.