Ghosts
Jermyn Street Theatre
Norway 1881 – Oswald Alving returns to his childhood home – and to his mother Helene. His return coincides with the grand opening of an orphanage that is being built to commemorate the anniversary of his father’s death – and long buried secrets are uncovered, threatening to consume and overwhelm them both. Does the need to be free outweigh the cost of the truth?
Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen is a gripping exploration of family secrets, social hypocrisy and the consequences of trying to bury the past. In this production at Jermyn Street Theatre, directed by Kwame Owusu and adapted by Richard Eyre, Ibsen’s 19th-century drama feels anything but dated. Instead, it is an unsettling reminder that the ghosts we inherit from previous generations can be the hardest ones to escape.
A family with plenty to hide
At the centre of the drama is Flora Montgomery as Helene Alving, a woman who has spent years protecting her late husband’s reputation at the expense of her own happiness. Montgomery is excellent, balancing Helene’s composed, respectable exterior with the frustration and anguish bubbling beneath the surface.
Joe Pitts brings an equally compelling vulnerability to Oswald, whose return home exposes just how much his family history has shaped his future. His performance captures the painful tension between a son desperate to live freely and the devastating reality of what has been passed down to him.
Oliver Alvin-Wilson is also excellent as Pastor Manders: self-righteous and rigidly moral. His insistence on respectability, even when confronted with uncomfortable truths, makes him a fascinating and often infuriating presence. Meanwhile, Cecilia Appiah brings an engaging sense of ambition and determination to Regina, and Peter F. Gardiner adds a calculating edge to Jacob Engstrand.
An intimate and unsettling production
Jermyn Street Theatre’s intimate space is perfectly suited to this claustrophobic family drama. Cara Evans‘ dark, wood-panelled set makes the Alving home feel like a place where the past can never truly be escaped, while Ben Ormerod’s lighting subtly reinforces the increasingly unsettling atmosphere.
At just 90 minutes, the production keeps the tension building as each new secret comes to light, leaving little opportunity to catch your breath.
Final thoughts
More than 140 years after it was written, the themes Ghosts poses are still very relevant: inherited trauma, patriarchal expectations and the damage caused by prioritising appearances over honesty. It still poses questions about responsibility, freedom and whether the truth is always worth the pain.
The past may be dead and buried, but as Ibsen so brilliantly demonstrates, that does not mean it has stopped haunting the living.
Written by Helena Featherstone
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