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Bridge; Old Vic, LondonSimon Russell Beale is doubly commanding as Ibsen’s charismatic banker in a problem-raising revival, while a new anti-vax satire needs more than a shot of Helen Hunt’s star powerJohn Gabriel Borkman is one of Henrik Ibsen’s last and richest plays. From the opening moments when footsteps are heard pounding above the action, to the close, where two sisters, rivals in love, declare themselves to be shadows, this 1896 drama is full of penetrating sounds and images – and of writing that vaults. Yet it swings between acute psychology and whirling symbolism, and asks its audience to believe that its star monster is propelled by idealism. It is hard to pull off. Nicholas Hytner’s production, even with Simon Russell Beale, Clare Higgins and Lia Williams in the main roles is an evening of only intermittent splendours.Borkman, an ostentatiously wealthy banker, has fallen from grace and from society. The son of a miner, he clawed his way to financial success, and adoration: in a nice touch, in Lucinda Coxon’s new version, transplanted to an approximate 21st century, he is sometimes referred to by his initials, as if he were a Norwegian JFK. Released after being imprisoned for embezzlement, he has created his own jail, living separately from his wife in the same house (his are the footsteps); estranged from her sister, whom he loved but failed to marry; distant from his son. His plans for the embezzled funds were lofty: the creation of a network of industry and transport that would change the lives of millions; all creditors would, he claims, have been quickly paid back had his cover not been blown.John Gabriel Borkman is at the Bridge until 26 November Continue reading...