''The Lady from the Sea'' ( no, Fruen fra havet, link=no) is a play written in 1888 by Norwegian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...

inspired by the ballad '' Agnete og Havmanden''. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed in Ibsen's later play ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' ( no, Bygmester Solness) is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published ...

''. The character portrayal of Hilde Wangel has been portrayed twice in contemporary film, most recently in the 2014 film titled '' A Master Builder''.

Characters

* Doctor Edvard Wangel *Ellida Wangel, his second wife *Bolette, his elder daughter from a previous marriage *Hilda, his younger daughter from a previous marriage *Lyngstrand, a dying would-be sculptor and friend of the Wangels *Arnholm, Bolette's former tutor and possible suitor, and Ellida's former suitor *Ballestad, a painter and friend of the Wangels *The Stranger, a man whom Ellida has a history with and the antagonist

Synopsis

This play is centred on a lady called Ellida. She is the daughter of a lighthouse-keeper, and grew up where the fjord met the open sea; she loves the sea. She is married to Doctor Wangel, a physician in a small fjord town in northern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. He has two daughters (Bolette and Hilde) by his previous wife, now deceased. He and Ellida have a son who died as a baby. Ellida is restless and troubled by a former romantic attachment. Wangel, fearing for Ellida’s mental health, has invited up Arnholm, Bolette’s former tutor, and a former suitor to Ellida, in the hope that he can help Ellida. Some years earlier Ellida was deeply in love and engaged to a sailor, but because he murdered his captain he had to escape. Nevertheless, he asked her to wait for him to come and fetch her. She tried to break the engagement, but he had too great a hold over her. The sailor then returns all these years later to claim her. Ellida then has to choose between her former lover or her husband. Dr Wangel finally recognizes her freedom to choose since he understands that he has no other options. This goes in his favour as she then chooses him. The play ends with the sailor leaving and Ellida and Wangel deciding to take up their lives again together.

Production history

* 1973: The New York Repertory Company performed ''The Lady from the Sea'' at the Gotham Arts Centre in New York City.

Robert Kalfin Robert Zangwill Kalfin (April 22, 1933 – September 20, 2022) was an American stage director and producer who has worked on and off Broadway and at regional theaters throughout the country. He was a former artistic director of the Cincinnati Pl ...

directed. *1977: The Birmingham Repertory Theatre in Birmingham, England, starring Rosemary McHale as Ellida *1979:

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

starred in Michael Elliott's production with the Royal Exchange Theatre Company at The New Roundhouse in London, England *1988: Stan Wojewodski directed ''The Lady from the Sea'' at Centre Stage in Baltimore, Maryland, starring Laila Robins as Ellida *1990: At the Münicher Kammerspiele Schauspielhaus in Munich, directed by Thomas Langhoff *1990: Svein Sturle Hungnes directed at Oslo's National Theatre *1996: Jackson Phippin directed ''The Lady from the Sea'' at the

Cleveland Playhouse Cleveland Play House (CPH) is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1915 and built its own noted theater complex in 1927. Currently the company performs at the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square wher ...

with Kate Skinner as Ellida *2000: Rick Davis directed ''The Lady from the Sea'' at Theater of the First Amendment in a new translation by Brian Johnston. *2002: Directed by Alfred Christie at the Century Centre for Performing Arts *2001: At the

Intiman Theatre Intiman Theatre Festival in Seattle, Washington, was founded in 1972 as a resident theatre by Margaret "Megs" Booker, who named it for August Strindberg's Stockholm theater.

in Seattle, adapted by Jim Lewis and directed by Kate Whoriskey *2006: As part of the Spring 2006 season, Sara Cronberg directed ''The Lady from the Sea'' at the Municipal Theatre (Stadsteater) in Stockholm, Sweden *2015: At the Shaw Festival ''The Lady from the Sea'' was directed by Erin Shields with Moya O’Connell as Ellida. *2020: Directed by Leon Mitchell in

Kragerø Kragerø () is a town and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. The city of Kra ...

, Norway, starring Katrina Syran as Ellida

Adaptations

* ''Kvinnan från havet'' (''The Woman from the Sea'') is a ballet by choreographer Birgit Cullberg, and based on Ibsen's play. The ballet was premiered at the Royal Opera, Stockholm, with ballerina and actress Kari Sylwan in the title role. *''Sounding'', a mixed-media performance adaptation of ''The Lady from the Sea'', was performed at the HERE Arts Centre in New York City as part of HERE's annual CULTUREMART. * ''Vom Meer''. Opera with music by Alexander Muno and a libretto by Francis Hüsers. World premiere: 29 April 2011, Opernzelt, Heidelberg * ''The Lady from the Sea''. Opera by Craig Armstrong (music) and Zoë Strachan (libretto). World premiere: 29 August 2012, Edinburgh International Festival * ''The Lady from the Sea'', a

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...

adaptation by Frank McGuinness and starring

Lia Williams Lia Williams (born 26 November 1964) is an English actress and director, known for stage, film, and television appearances. She is noted for her role as Wallis Simpson in ''The Crown''. Theatre career Williams's breakthrough performance came ...

as Ellida, originally broadcast on 1 November 2009 and re-broadcast on 3 May 2015. * ''Sagara Kanyaka'',

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

adaptation of the play, produced by India's Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre and Australian composer Robert Davidson *''The Lady from the Sea by Henrik Ibsen'', a Cinalight adaptation directed by Leon Mitchell and starring Katrina Syran as Ellida. Produced in

in 2020 for international broadcast

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady from the Sea, The 1888 plays Plays by Henrik Ibsen Norwegian plays adapted into films