John Gabriel Borkman
by Henrik Ibsen
a new version by David Eldridge
directed by Barbara Oliver
April 2, 2010 - May 9, 2010
show length: 2 hours, 15 minutes with one intermission
This fiercely relevant play explores the sacrifices made in the pursuit of power and success. Home now, after serving time in prison for embezzlement, Borkman has spent the last eight years pacing alone and making plans for a comeback. Meanwhile, his estranged wife and her twin sister vie for the loyalty of the prized son.
Written in 1896 and recently revived at London’s Donmar Warehouse with this new version by David Eldridge, John Gabriel Borkman is a pointed indictment of capitalism and greed.
Directed by former Artistic Director Barbara Oliver and featuring James Carpenter (The Master Builder) and Karen Grassle (Caroline “Ma” Ingalls from TV’s popular series Little House on the Prairie).
"David Eldridge's lean and muscular adaptation captures the pulse and throb of the get-rich-quick ethos" - SJ Mercury News/Bay Area News Group (read the full review)
"It's worth seeing... Ibsen helped shape the modern drama, and Oliver has a penchant for tackling his more difficult plays... her Borkman works as well as any I've seen." - SF Chronicle (read the full review)
Videos
Stark Silver Creek Interview with James Carpenter
Loni from "All Things West Coast" supersite Stark Silver Creek sat down with John Gabriel Borkman actor James Carpenter to discuss his experience with this challenging play.
Media
KPFA Interview
Berkeley's own KPFA program Against the Grain interviews John Gabriel Borkman actor Karen Lewis discusses Henrik Ibsen's pointed indictment of capitalist greed
calendar
APRIL |
mon |
tue |
wed |
thu |
fri |
sat |
sun |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| MAY |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Biographies
Production Photos
Program Notes
Related Events
Script Club: All My Sons
FREE! Monday April 19th, 2010 7:30pm
Henrik Ibsen explores ultra-individualism (among other things) through the “Industrial Dream” aristocratic eyes of John Gabriel Borkman (1896). Fifty years later, Arthur Miller would continue this exploration now through the “American Dream” middle-class eyes of Joe Keller in All My Sons (1949).
Friday Forum: Taking Responsibility for Individual Choices Made
Post-show Friday, April 23rd
A scheduled opportunity to engage with the audience in an evening of dialogue and community-building around the issues of the play just viewed. Facilitated by the Education Director, this twenty-minute forum invites audience members to engage with topics that get at the challenging content of the show in a personal way, interacting with each other and the cast and director (when possible), and calling forth the long-term implications of the show in our lives.
Tuesday Talk-back
Post-show Tuesday, April 27th
Groups can enhance their experience at Aurora by requesting a post-show Talk-Back. Facilitated by the group’s coordinator or by Aurora’s Education Director, twenty minute post-show Talk-Backs may include a dialogue with the cast, director, or designers. The opportunity for the group to discuss their reflections on the play they just experienced, as well as, the natural interest of the audience in the actors’ experiences of working on this particular script, often shapes the focus of the discussion. Groups of 20 or more should request well in advance their interest to include actors, director, stage manager, or designers at their Talk-Back.
Stimulus Recovery Night - John Gabriel Borkman's Family and Fortunes
Post-show Friday, May 7th
How does a family address fortune and misfortune? When did family and fortune get so intertwined in American dramatic history? 20 minutes, led by Education Director Michael Mansfield.
Stasis and Mobility in Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman
Pre-show Symposium Saturday, April 10, 2010
5:30 - 6:30 Symposium
6:30 Dinner Break
8:00 Show
This play about the bankrupt financier Borkman portrays the end of circulation and mobility on many levels. In the play that the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch called "the most powerful winter landscape in Scandinavian art," the circulation of capital, of physical movement, and of human emotions all seem to have come to a standstill. Even so, the play's characters dream of mobility, youth and escape. The panelists will discuss this aspect o the play from the perspective of dramatic language, historical stage practices, and the Aurora Theatre's current production of the play. Time for questions follows panel presentations.
Sponsors
Share
