REHEARSALS are well underway for the Castle Players’ autumn production.
New director Libby Harding (pictured right) will lead a performance of Hedda Gabler, a 19th century play. Ms Harding was in the Turrets Youth Theatre before joining the Castle Players which has seen her stage manage Romeo and Juliet and enjoy playing parts in Henry V, Twelfth Night, Pride and Prejudice and Black Comedy.
She said: “Hedda is such a complex character.
“I thought it would be a really good one to get my teeth in to as a first play – one that I could explore the interrelationships rather than focusing on the staging.
“I’ve had lots of ideas for Castle Players productions and the new directors slot was the ideal place to start.”
Choosing to set Ibsen’s 1890s play in the 1920s using a modern text adaptation, Ms Harding says the play transfers well across different time periods and social classes.
She said: “It’s about a woman who has just got married, and having come back from a six-month honeymoon is hit with the realisation that she feels trapped in a life she doesn’t want.
“She feels like there is no way out, reiterating that she’s afraid of the scandal which getting divorced would cause.” She added: “It’s very easy to see Hedda as a bad person.
She isn’t, just very complex.
She’s very impulsive, which has massive repercussions on her relationships and the outcomes of the play.”
Every autumn The Castle Players gives someone new to directing the opportunity to try their hand at it with the guidance of a mentor and the group to support them. Hedda Gabler will show for two nights at The Witham on Friday, November 22, and Saturday, November 23. Tickets are available at www.the
witham.org.uk, by calling 01833 631107 or in person at The Witham.Directing debut for Libby at the Players
