Photo credit: Alexandra Shelest

Family secrets, forbidden desires... and ghosts. Ibsen's Ghosts are no spectral hauntings but absent people, events long buried, and conventions that shape us and our lives, whether we know it or not.

Why Ibsen? Why now?

Ghosts premiered in 1882, but the play's themes are still very relevant in today’s world.

First is the question of determinism versus free will. As we get older, we perceive that events often unfold because of past antecedents. Antecedents which may be unknown to us or may date back generations. How often do we have regrets and wonder, “Why did I do that?”, commenting on behaviors which we don’t recognize in ourselves.

It's cognitive dissonance, and with our ability to map genetic codes, new questions have arisen about the extent of deterministic behavior. Even trauma is now known to leave a genetic imprint. Yet, we know little about our pasts. All that we know of our parents' and grandparents' lives are what they tell us.

And who knows what they left out? Who knows how this genetic baggage with all its secrets influences our behavior? Does this mean we are condemned to repeat the past or to endure its impact?

Hence, the title of the play - "Gengangere", the original Danish title, meaning both "ones who return" and "events which repeat themselves".