When Ghosts exploded onto the stage in 1881 it caused outrage and was immediately banned. When it was finally performed in London in 1891, the Daily Telegraph described the play as “an open drain; a loathsome sore unbandaged; a dirty act done publicly”.
Yet it was so theatrically exciting that it established Ibsen as the trailblazer of modern drama. Ghosts captures the burning social and moral issue of the day, the flames of which are still raging in our own times.
This gritty, fresh new version of Ibsen's shocking masterpiece is by celebrated Irish playwright Frank McGuinness and directed by Robert Bowman for Bristol Old Vic.
What the Critics said:
“Séainín Brennan's Regine is potent and authoritative, bustling with all that determination and barely suppressed rage that so befits a people oppressed. Brennan has Regine make use of convention in order to progress; she won't allow it to constrain her. She is perfectly prepared to use her quiet sexuality to secure her future, without ever compromising that proud and unguarded dignity which Brennan brings to the part, and which helps stand Regine apart from the other characters”
* * * * The British Theatre Guide, Allison Vale
“The indomitable Irishness of both Séainín Brennan's seductive Regine and John Stahl's sinister Engstrand is a nice touch, suggesting that their economic opportunism stems, in large part, from their nation's exploited history…A strong, clear, well-acted production by Robert Bowman.”
* * * The Guardian, Michael Billington
“A stunning reworking of Ibsen’s 1881 masterpiece by prolific playwright Frank McGuinness, carrying a strong Irish slant. The claustrophobic nature of small town life and the two-faced bigotry of men of the cloth sit just as easily in 19th century Ireland as in Norway…an all-round excellent cast.”
* * * * The Stage,Jeremy Brien
“While McGuinness retains the Norwegian Fjord setting, the Anglo-Irish inflection of his dialogue brings the tension between morality, integrity and religion closer to home…There’s another problematic parent-child relationship, between the lame, drunken carpenter (John Stahl) and his supposed daughter, Mrs Alving’s maid Regine (Séainín Brennan). Regine regards Engstrand as a kind of devil, and his ruined foot in its clumsy built up shoe as a cloven hoof; his plans for her future are devious and morally dubious. Yet Stahl suggests a father who genuinely seeks contentment, albeit of a warped kind, with his cruelly contemptuous child. The tears that fill his eyes when the ambitious Regine reject him are moving and also richly ironic: she is not, in fact, his daughter, but the illegitimate offspring of the dead Alving…The production has a ferocious dramatic and emotional undertow.”
The Times, Sam Marlowe
“The Snappy housemaid, Regine (excellent Séainín Brennan), and her wily, priest conning father, Engstrand (John Stahl), both speak with a brogue”
The Independent on Sunday, Kate Bassett
“Séainín Brennan is perfect as the pert and pushy maid”
* * * * The Mail on Sunday, Georgina Brown
“ Nicely pitched acting from Séainín Brennan as the family’s ambitious maid–rendered in Musical Celtic brogue”
* * * * The Daily Mail, Patrick Marmion
“leave EastEnders for one night and watch the ‘sins of the fathers’ play out at the Bristol Old Vic instead.”
BBC Bristol, Steven Deproost
Both female actresses are charming in their performances and Regine Engstrand - played by Séainín Brennan - really sparkles with her Irish wit. Her character has the strength to stand firm and keep her independence… Séainín Brennnan – gives a dazzling performance and I hope to see her in many more dramas. Her determination in her role was simply fabulous. She was a credit to her gender outshining even the performance of the protagonist Oswald Alvin.
Off The Wall Magazine, Spring Issue 7
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