John Gabriel Borkman

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: 'John Gabriel Borkman' is Norwegian master Henrik Ibsen's penultimate play. The story is a love triange featuring Borkman (a destitute, convicted fraudster) and twin sisters. One woman is Borkman's wife, the other a former lover. The trio are locked in argument over the fate of Borkman's son. La Mama's all-male production was directed by the veteran experimental director Peter King while Peter Corrigan designed the set. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: 'Borkman' reinforced Peter Corrigan's commitment to avant garde, independent theatre. King's radical, 'demented gothic' production of a nineteenth-century masterpiece, had men playing the major female parts, a move that queered the domestic realism of the original script. The production also compressed the play's four acts into one. Corrigan's design matched King's manic reimagining of the play. He constructed an austere, icy interior by cocooning La Mama in bubble wrap. The wrap glistened like snow under Greg Carroll's wonderful lighting. The set appeared to almost suffocate the actors, emphasising the desperate 'frozen hell' of the family. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: La Mama is Melbourne's best-known independent theatre.The worth of the production was further demonstrated by cultural critic Peter Craven's preview essay ('Candle burns bright for dark magic of Ibsen classic', The Age, 14 September 2013); by Rebecca Harkins-Cross' review ('No one escapes the butchering', The Age, 20 Sept 2013); and by online coverage, including Ian Nott's essay on the Theatre People website (http://www.theatrepeople.com.au/reviews/john-gabriel-borkman), which described the play as the highlight of the Fringe Festival. Likewise, influential website, ArtsHub, described Borkman 'as without a doubt the highlight of the 2013 fringe', a 'brilliant, visceral onslaught' (Robert Chuter, 'John Gabriel Borkman', 2 October 2013 http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/review/performing-arts/john-gabriel-borkman).