Peer Gynt

By Henrik Ibsen

Translated, Designed and Directed by Terje J Tveit

Lighting Design: Finnuala McNulty

Costumes: Sally Winter & Jools

Dance Choreography: Federica Zurleni

Images courtesy of www.stagephoto.co.uk

Produced with the generous support of

Pleasance Theatre London

30 January - 17 February, 2008

Peer Gynt is enjoying himself at party. His body language is suggesting that he is the life a soul of the party with a drink in his left hand.

© Image courtesy of StagePhoto

Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Three club girls in a speakeasy are performing. their act. The girl at the front hides half her face behind a red gauze.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Miss Kabaret Button-Moulder is holding Peer Gynt's face tight with both hands. She is wearing red long-sleeve satin gloves.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Miss Kabaret Button-Moulder is performing her act in a speakeasy surrounded by all the other club girls.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

“A synopsis of the original runs to the length of a sizeable short story, which means that translator, adaptor and director TerjeTveit deserves credit for wrestling this down to manageable size. [...] Nick Whitley gives the trilby-wearing Peer a nice insouciance which provides its own forward momentum [...] A couple of outbursts of nifty choreography are pleasing to watch, and the whole thing is undoubtedly sexier than most fringe productions.”

Cast

ISC
Annamaria AdamsKabaret Button-Moulder, Ensemble
Julian BirdDaddy Dovre, Ensemble
James BurtonJack Love, Art Dealer, Ensemble
Robert CarettaPorter, Gangster, Art Dealer, Ensemble
Roberto CavazosPeer Gynt, Ensemble
Frank FitzpatrickGangster, Art Dealer, Ensemble
Atli GunnarssonGangster, Art Dealer, Ensemble
Stephanie JoryMadam Begriffenfeldt, Club Girl, Ensemble
Jenni Lea-JonesIngrid, Club Girl, Ensemble
Lucy Le MessurierSolvejg Club Girl, Ensemble
Abigail LongstaffeGreen-Eye, Ensemble
Pearl MarslandÅse, Ensemble
Claire RussellAnitra, Club Girl, , Ensemble
Nick WhitleyPeer Gynt, Ensemble
Peer Gynt is posing nude like a Michelangelo's David, wearing only his trilby, with his back to the audience.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Jack is threatening one of the club girls lifting her chin with his hand suggesting the girl is keeping information from him.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Daddy Dovre's daughter is on the telephone wearing black long-sleeve satin gloves and pearl bracelets. She is smiling suggesting she is speaking to a secret lover.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

A fellow gangster looking over Jack's shoulder is passing on some confidential information to him.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Jack is surrounded by a group of club girls in a speakeasy.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Daddy Dovre is telling Jack what he intends to do in response to Jacks's disloyalty. Jack is breaking down in fear and horror.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Peer Gynt is talking to a gangster whose facial expression is self-assured looking straight ahead.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Jack is on his own holding an empty bottle considering his next move.

© Image courtesy of StagePhoto

Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

“A Pleasance look at the serious side of sinning [...] The world of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt is a place of loose morals, gleeful misadventure and heartbreak. Where better to set Terje Tveit’s unconventional new production of the 19th century classic then, than in the prohibition era of the early 1930s? Peer, an unscrupulous libertine who believes that “to sin, you have to be serious about it” wanders seedy jazz clubs and gangster haunts in search of his true identity in the Ibsen Stage Company’s latest offering. [...] Originally created by the author to be read, it proved so popular that it was soon adapted for theatrical performance. Ibsen cleverly intertwines his satirical views on the human condition with references to traditional Norwegian fairy tales while Tveit, the ballast of the Ibsen Stage Company, heightens the theme of the timeless-ness further by removing the play from its 19th century settings. It’s a heady mix of proverb, original sin and gangsters by the small company. [...] A prohibition cocktail with a kick.”

Solvejg is dressed in a simple, but elegant black hat 1920s style. Her facial expression exudes gentle honesty.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Deddy Dovre's daughter and a group of people are reading a newspaper.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

Peer Gynt is on his own. His facial expression is one of doubt and suspicion.

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Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

A club girl is waiting to start her act in a speakeasy.

© Image courtesy of StagePhoto

Peer Gynt, Pleasance Theatre London

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