Michael Pennington On ... Ibsens’ Judgement at The Print Room
WhatsOnStage.Com, 21st November 2011
Michael Pennington stars alongside Penny Downie in James Dacre’s production of Judgement Day, adapted by Mike Poulton from Ibsen’s When We Dead Awaken, which opens at The Print Room this week.
Pennington is an acclaimed actor, director and author who, in addition to numerous seasons at the RSC, has played leading Shakespearean roles around the world with the English Shakespeare Company, which he co-founded with Michael Bogdanov.
His myriad West End credits include Taking Sides and Collaboration, Gross Indecency, Waste, The Entertainer and his one-man Sweet William.
Michael Pennington: Judgement Day is a retitled version of Ibsen’s last play, which is normally titled When We Dead Awaken. He wrote it when he was very close to have the stroke that killed him, and it’s much neglected because people tend to regard it as the work of an ailing genius.
I think he might not even intended it to be performed because it has elements in it that are very difficult to stage, but he certainly intended it to be read. So perhaps for those reasons it’s remained relatively obscure.
I play Arnold Rubek, a sculptor, who is happily married to a much younger woman. He’s at a point in his life when he’s very successful but has somewhat lost his way as an artist. They go to a health spa in the mountains where he encounters a woman who modelled for his most famous work, and it’s one of those unresolved relationships which many people have in their lives. So much of the play is about his struggle to decide what to do in terms of these two women and the fourth character, a younger man - I won’t give away too much more of the story as it’s a new play to many people.
In some ways the idea of sacrificing your personal happiness for art is the lingue franca of of my profession. You could certainly parallel the relationship between the model and the sculptor with that between an actor and a director, or two people playing Romeo and Juliet. But it’s not just relevant to the arts; I think it speaks to anyone who’s had a relationship with a hard-working partner. It’s a very resonant story in the context of art because that’s the world that Ibsen understood.
For me, eccentrically, it completes a trio, as the only Ibsen’s I’ve performed in my life are the final three, namely John Gabriel Borkman and The Master Builder. So these late, partly autobiographical portraits seem to have been what I’ve come in on, having never played those uncomprehending husbands and mysterious pastors and mayors that populate the earlier plays.
I was on holiday after completing The Syndicate when the offer came through, and at first I thought I wasn’t too sure but as always with Ibsen after a couple of read-throughs you want to do it badly. Underneath it all is this incredible curiosity that Ibsen had about men and women, and this unmistakable sense that he worries that his devotion to his art may have been a wasted life because he’s neglected so many other things.
The other thing that was an incentive was the opportunity to work in this wonderful new space The Print Room, which is already a success story and whicj I can only say is the most wonderful place to work. It’s so good that at such a difficult time a new theatre can still grow and flourish.
This play is right up their street because their brief is to a large extent to produce lesser known plays by well-known writers; they’ve done an Ayckbourn and a Pasolini recently. I can’t praise Lucy Bailey and Anda Winters and their colleagues highly enough for the work they’ve done there. Long may it continue.
Archives Jan/June 2012 |
Archives July/December 2011 |
Archives Jan/June 2011 |
Archives July/December 2010 |
Archives Jan/June 2010 |
Archives July/Dec 2009 |
Archives Jan/June 2009 |
Stage |
Audio |
Television |
Radio |
Film |
Books |
Plays |
Anton Chekhov |
Sweet William |
English Shakespeare Company |
Readings |
Direction |
An interview wiith Antony himself |
Reviews |
Michael Pennington on Ibsen |
Exeunt.com |
Ibsen's Judgement at The Print Room |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Interview |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Shakespearean actor learns from 'Love' |
Reviews |
Collaboration & Taking Sides |
San Francisco Sentinel |
The News |
Reviews Chichester |
Reviews London |
On ... Doing a West End Double |
When Bobby Met Terry |
Reviews |
Nellie Ternan |
Reviews |
A curious character |
Reviews |
The Short Answer |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
The Knives Are Out |
Reviews |
They call it puppet love |
Reviews |
Interview |
A performance fit for a King |
A World of Schemers |
Reviews |
Peter's friends |
From Russia With Love |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Coping with the Apocalypse |
Pennington back in fold |
Labours of love |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Changing of the Guard |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Old Vic's Master of Disguise |
Studies in misogyny |
Reviews |
The Entertainer finds new life ... |
Reviews |
Ugly Americans, British Style |
In Defence of the Playwright |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
The thing with this play |
There's something nice ... |
Reviews |
Reviews |
How to be in two plays at one time |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Rigorous romantic |
If this is Venice |
Reviews |
Bring on the Russian Horses |
Man with a lean and hungry look |
Reviews |
Reviews |
In the shadows .... |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
A state of mind and body |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
The Travels of Michael |
First Wicket Down |
Reviews |
Way of the Actor |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Former Spear Carrier |
One man's week |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Limelight 1967 |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Chekhov's Vaudevilles |
The cherries on Chekhov's birthday cake |
A Jubilee |
Reviews |
Cottesloe 1984 |
Dublin 1990 |
Old Vic 1997 |
Winchester Festival 2003 |
ETT 2003 |
Hampstead Theatre 2008 |
Little Angel Theatre |
Arcola Theatre |
Guthrie Theater |
Hampstead Theatre London |
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre |
Oxford Playhouse |
Salisbury Playhouse |
Theatre Royal Northampton |
reviews |
Talks about book |
From Macbeth to Lear |
Performance |
Direction - Twelfth Night |
Books |
Videos |
Theatre company head quits |
The Henry Trilogy |
The Wars of the Roses |
Coriolanus |
The Winter's Tale |
Macbeth |
Henry IV Part I |
Henry IV Part II |
Henry V |
Reviews |
Articles |
Heady Challenge |
Hurray for the new Henry |
The Bard takes to the Road |
A bubble for the Bard |
Marathon Man |
Bard Boy |
Richard II |
Henry IV Part I |
Henry IV Part II |
Henry V |
Henry VI Lancaster |
Henry VI York |
Richard III |
Reviews |
Articles |
A Magnificent Seven |
Star Wars, Rose Wars |
An ambitious programme |
Tough company |
The Battle of the Bards |
Cycling Shakespeare |
Histories for our time |
A garment all of blood |
Coriolanus & WT Reviews |
Articles |
Roman Hero for our day |
Sun rises on Coriolanus |
A theatrical tour de force |
Son of Shakespeare-Wallah |
Bard on the Run |
Reviews |
Articles |
Now and thane |
Bard stripped bare |
Reviews |
The Story of the Wars of the Roses |
Operation Shakespeare |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
A Midsummer Night's Dream |
Twelfth Night (Chicago) |
Twelfth Night (Tokyo) |
Kafka - A Report to the Academy |
Alone Together |
Twelfth Night Across the Continents |
On Acting and Directing Shakespeare |
Reviews |
Reviews |
By Gloucester Docks |
The Name of the Rose |
Felix in the Underworld |
Antony and Cleopatra |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Classics for Pleasure |
Reviews |
Sentimental journey |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Lucky Stryk |
Reviews |
From Russia ... with love |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
Reviews |
The book the Bishop burnt |
Reviews |
Reviews |
The Return of Sherlock Holmes |
Fragile |
Britain isn't Working |
The Iron Lady |
Elementary, my dear Miss Watson |
Review |
Hamlet. A User's Guide |
Twelfth Night. A User's Guide |
Are You There Crocodile? |
A Pocket Guide |
A Midsummer Night's Dream. A User's Guide |
Players of Shakespeare |
Audio |
Books |
Direction |
English Shakespeare Company |
Film |
Theatre |
Radio |
Readings |
Television |