The Lady From The Sea
By Henrik Ibsen
Adapted by Mike Poulton
Directed by Lucy Bailey
She has performed opposite theatrical greats such as Ralph Fiennes, Derek Jacobi, Kenneth Branagh and Ken Stott, and now acclaimed British actress Claire Price will be taking the lead role in a brand-new production of Ibsen’s The Lady From The Sea at Birmingham Repertory Theatre this Spring.
The Lady From The Sea is one of Ibsen’s most lyrical, hopeful and rarely performed plays. Married to the respectable Dr Wangel, Ellida has a secure, comfortable but landlocked life. She is constantly drawn towards the sea. As memories of a past love threaten to overwhelm her, will she suffocate on dry land or find freedom across the ocean?
Ibsen’s hauntingly beautiful play stars Claire Price as Ellida. Best known from TV drama Rebus, as Ken Stott's feisty sidekick, Claire Price also has an incredible list of theatrical credits including Ibsen’s Brand with Ralph Fiennes (RSC), Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi (Gielgud Theatre), Richard III with Kenneth Branagh (Sheffield Crucible), and Relapse and Cyrano De Bergerac at the National Theatre.
Director Lucy Bailey’s recent directing credits include Titus Andronicus with an all male cast including Douglas Hodge (Shakespeare’s Globe), Don’t Look Now (Sheffield Lyceum & Lyric Hammersmith), Comfort Me With Apples (Hampstead Theatre, nominated for Olivier for outstanding achievement), Tonight at 8.30 a series of short plays by Noel Coward (Minerva, Chichester), The Postman Always Rings Twice starring Val Kilmer (West Yorkshire Playhouse), and The Night Season by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (National Theatre). In 1999 she adapted and directed the first British stage version of Tennessee Williams’ screen play Baby Doll, which opened at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, transferred to the National Theatre and then to the Albery Theatre in the West End.
Mike Poulton began writing for theatre in 1995. His work includes the critically acclaimed adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi and Claire Price (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield and Gielgud Theatre, London) and Fortune’s Fool which won seven major awards on Broadway including two Tonys. His adaptation of Ibsen’s Romersholm opens at the Almeida Theatre in May 2008.
The cast includes Louis Hilyer (Dr Wangel), Oliver Boot (Stranger), Kim Durham (Ballested), Amu McAllister (Hilde), Simon Scardifield (Arnholm), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Lygnstrand) and Hannah Young (Boletta). Design is by Mike Britton, lighting by Oliver Fenwick with music by Luke Stoneham and sound by Dan Hoole.
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