Toward the beginning of “Hedda,” we find our titular heroine (Tessa Thompson) standing alone atop her vast estate wielding a pistol. Down below, Judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock) makes his way across the grass. He’s arrived early for Hedda’s party, thrown in celebration of her marriage to George Tesman (Tom Bateman).
Hedda admonishes Brack for his earliness. “Shall I punish you?” she drawls, pointing the gun at Brack. She suddenly aims wide and fires, chuckling at Brack’s horrified reaction. She wins this round.
“Hedda,” written and directed by Nia DaCosta and adapted from Henrik Ibsen’s play “Hedda Gabler,” is all about punishment and power, centering around the woman on top of the parapet who’s as likely to turn her gun on herself as anyone else. “Hedda” is a whirling dervish of power struggles, featuring a powerhouse performance from Thompson at the eye of the hurricane. Setting the story in the 1950s, DaCosta beautifully updates Ibsen’s play to explore questions of sexuality and race within one woman’s quest to find even an ounce of control.
Read Sammie’s full review on Rough Draft
