Ghosts

Since the death of her charismatic but abusive husband, Helene Alving has been treading water in a sea of empty days. What keeps her going is a deeply held belief that salvation can only lie in telling her son Osvald the truth about his father. But when Osvald returns after living as an artist in France, he has his own truth to reveal: he is already living the consequences of his father’s life… Ghosts outraged critics and thrilled audiences when it first premiered. Over a century later, Henrik Ibsen’s controversial masterpiece, adapted specially for Belvoir by Eamon Flack, remains just as riveting and radical.

About the Author :
Born in Norway in 1828, Ibsen began his writing career with romantic history plays influenced by Shakespeare and Schiller. In 1851 he was appointed writer-in-residence at the newly established Norwegian Theatre in Bergen with a contract to write a play a year for five years, following which he was made Artistic Director of the Norwegian Theatre in what is now Oslo. In the 1860s he moved abroad to concentrate wholly on writing. He began with two mighty verse dramas, Brand and Peer Gynt, and in the 1870s and 1880s wrote the sequence of realistic 'problem' plays for which he is best known, among them A Doll's House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, Hedda Gabler and Rosmersholm. His last four plays, The Master Builder, Little Eyolf, John Gabriel Borkman and When We Dead Awaken, dating from his return to Norway in the 1890s, are increasingly overlaid with symbolism. Illness forced him to retire in 1900, and he died in 1906 after a series of crippling strokes. Eamon graduated from the acting course at WAAPA in 2003 and has since worked as a director, actor, writer and dramaturg for Belvoir, Melbourne Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre, Bell Shakespeare's Mind's Eye, Perth International Arts Festival, Darwin Festival, Playwriting Australia and various other companies. For Belvoir, Eamon has directed Life of Galileo, Packer & Sons, Counting & Cracking (with S. Shakthidharan), Ghosts, The Rover, Ivanov, Angels in America Parts One and Two, The Glass Menagerie, Mother Courage and Her Children, Babyteeth, As You Like It, Twelfth Night or What You Will, The Blind Giant is Dancing, The Great Fire, Once in Royal David's City and The End. Eamon has adapted and directed Gorky's Summerfolk (Bob Presents) and his adaptation of Antigone was produced at the Perth International Arts Festival and published by Currency Press. Eamon and Shakthi's production of Counting & Cracking won seven Helpmann Awards in 2019, including Best New Australian Work, Best Production of a Play and Best Direction of a Play. It also received the Victorian Prize for Literature and Prize for Drama in the 2020 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, and Best Mainstage Production, Best New Australian Work and Best Original Score at the 2019 Sydney Theatre Awards. Eamon's productions of The Glass Menagerie and Angels in America have both won Best Play at the Helpmann Awards. Ivanov won four Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Mainstage Production and Best Direction.

Review :
"This is a blisteringly contemporary play." -- Ben Neutze, Daily Review "Flacks adaptation of Ibsens play is poignant and surprisingly timely." -- Angus McPherson, Limelight