The Wild Duck, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Klein Theatre, Washington, DC

Maalke Laanstra-Corn as Hedvig, David Patrick Kelly as Old Elving, Nick Westtrate as Hjalmar, Melanie Field as Gina, and Alexander Hurr as Gregers in The Wild Duck at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Photo credit: Gerry Goodstein,

We spend a lot of time these days questioning “truth.” We have been told that there are “alternative facts” and that “fake news” is rampant. Many of us have learned to question the veracity of information we receive and to bring into question the credibility of those who share that information, even when there is incontrovertible evidence that what is said is wholly truthful.

“The truth will set you free” is an often-quoted maxim most of us have grown up hearing. It never occurred to me to try to trace the metamorphosis of that phrase, but I now know that it is Biblical. In the New Testament, the Gospel of John (8:32) quotes Jesus as saying, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Here, “the truth” is expressed in spiritual terms, but we recognize that “truth” exists in other terms as well.

I would imagine that most (if not all) of us have shaded the truth or told “little white lies” in order to spare someone else’s feelings. In other words, honesty may not well be the best policy in every instance.

This dichotomy is at the core of Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, currently onstage at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre, in an adaptation by David Eldridge. Written in 1884, The Wild Duck is not produced nearly as often as the Norwegian playwright’s more famous plays: Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, and A Doll’s House. While truth may not be the core concept of those plays, it is certainly a major theme.

Alexander Hurt as Gregers and Nick Westrate as Hjalmar in The Wild Duck. Photo credit: Gerry Goodstein.

I remember a quote from a text in graduate school (over 40 years ago) that “Modern Drama is dated from the 1880s, when Ibsen began writing in the realistic mode,” or something very close to that. Ibsen “set the stage,” so to speak, for playwrights like the Swedish August Strindberg and Russian Anton Chekhov, whose Uncle Vanya STC produced so beautifully last season.

Numerous books have been written defining and defending realism. At its core, the focus is on “everyday” characters from various social classes in “real life” situations, speaking in unadorned prose, in a setting where the “fourth wall” has been removed, allowing us to witness what happens there. The characters’ actions are psychologically motivated and the subject matter is often socially significant.

The opening scene of The Wild Duck takes place in the home of the wealthy Håkon Werle and suggests that the play will revolve around the relationship between the wealthy Håkon and his prodigal son, Gregers, who has been welcomed home with a party. Gregers has invited an old friend, Hjalmar Ekdal, to the party. Out of touch for many years, Gregers learns that Hjalmar has married and has been assisted in setting up a business as a photographer by Håkon, something he thinks is very uncharacteristic of his father. It is apparent that Hjalmar is not of the same social class as the other party guests. After he leaves, Håkon offers his son the opportunity to take over the operations of his company. Disgusted with his father’s way of life, Gregers refuses.

The remaining scenes of the play take place in the barn-like home of Hjalmar, his wife Gina, and their daughter Hedvig. Hjalmar calls Hedvig his greatest joy and biggest heartbreak, for the young teen is losing her eyesight. The appearance is that the family of three is getting by, but just barely. Hjalmar’s father, Old Ekdal, once a great hunter, has a room in the apartment as well. He is a former business partner to Håkon who has previously been imprisoned, taking the fall for misdeeds actually committed by Håkon. Old Ekdal works as an occasional copier for Håkon for meager wages. He keeps rabbits, pigeons, and other birds in the loft joining the apartment, where he occasionally “hunts.” Hedvig is tending to a wild duck that had been shot and injured by Håkon, nursing it back to health. We learn that it is the habit of wild ducks who are dying to dive to the deepest part of the water in order to die alone. This duck was “rescued” by one of Håkon’s dogs and brought to the surface.

Nick Westrate as Hjalmar and Maaike Laanstra-Corn as Hedvig in The Wild Duck. Photo credit: Gerry Goodstein.

Gregers recognizes Gina as having been a housekeeper for his parents prior to his mother’s death. Because his mother believed that her husband was interested in Gina, she was let go. Gregers begins to piece together a number of clues to determine that Hjalmar’s and Gina’s marriage is based on lies, all of which can be traced to his father. Gregers expects that the revelation of this truth will be welcomed news for the couple. Relling, a doctor who lives in an apartment beneath the Ekdals, calls Gregers’s laser focus on truth “chronic righteousness,” which he suggests is a national problem. Sometimes, Relling says, we need to believe what he calls a “life lie” in order to survive. Indeed, by the end of the play a number of lives have been forever altered.

Some critics have termed the play a “tragicomedy.” Its focus is on serious events, but there are many moments of unexpected humor that prevent the play from becoming tragic. Simon Godwin directs with a commitment to both the tragic and the comedic, powerfully using both to build the intensity of the performance.

The cast is led by Nick Westrate, giving a stellar performance as Hjalmar. Hjalmar undergoes tremendous changes, which Westrate perfectly captures, from the almost-giddy happiness with Gina and Hedvig to the outrage and pain as his “life lie” is destroyed. I missed Westrate’s recent STC performance in Frankenstein but vividly recall his outstanding work in his Helen Hayes-winning role as Prior Walter in Arena Stage’s Angels in America: Part One in 2023. He is an actor worth watching.

Alexander Hurt is a resolutely and relentlessly committed advocate for truth in his role as the pious Gregers. Melanie Field is the soul of sympathetic patience as Gina, heart-breaking as she must reveal certain events in her past. Robert Stanton as Håkon provides a good counterbalance to Hurt’s Gregers in their scenes together, managing to evoke some consideration despite the duplicity of his character’s wrongdoing.  Maaike Laanstra-Corn creates a delicate and loving Hedvig, trying to understand the drastic changes in her life and desperate to retain Hjalmar’s love.

David Patrick Kelly makes memorable, often very funny appearances as Old Ekdal, energetically embodying the man with a certain dignity while also losing his touch with reality. Matthew Saldívar as Dr. Relling brings gravitas and moral authority to his role. Katie Broad as Patterson, Mahira Kakkar as Mrs. Sorby, Bobby Plasencia as Mr. Flor, and Alexander Sovronsky as Jensen contribute excellent work in supporting roles. Sovronsky, who also serves as musical director, aids the proceedings by playing Norwegian folk and classical music on the violin during transitions between scenes, adding to the authenticity of the setting and period.

Melanie Field as Gina and Alexander Hurt as Gregers in The Wild Duck. Photo credit: Gerry Goodstein.

I have mixed feelings about Andew Boyce’s scenic design. The opening of the play takes place in Håkon’s well-to-do home, but it was sparely furnished and backed by what appeared to be an almost cartoon-like background. On the other hand, the Ekdals’ apartment worked much better, its spareness and neutral colors successfully suggesting the austerity of the family’s circumstances. Heather C. Freeman’s costume designs make use, for the most part, of the same neutral colors in contrast to the brighter, more elaborate costumes worn by the wealthier characters, especially in the first act. Stacey Derosier’s lighting design unobtrusively incorporates oil lamps as well as a skylight in the apartment. The sound design by Darron L West is subtly effective.

Washington area audiences are unlikely to find a more satisfying performance of this significant play. See it before it closes on November 16.