MY MASTER BUILDER - Wyndham's Theatre (01/05/25)

Ewan McGregor-led love letter to Ibsen proves solid but underwhelming

Love: it is a drug like none other, in that it often instils and elicits behaviour that, in the sound minded individual, would be perceived as irrational, hysterical, or even maniacal in extreme cases. That is the basic summary of what transpires through the course of Lila Raicek's new play "My Master Builder", a loose interpretation of Henrik Ibsen's similarly titled 1893 play that follows a similar trajectory, with many of the names altered from their original guises. Rather than the initial expectation of a narrative with any sort of link to architecture or construction, not unlike Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth", the overriding thematic material focusses predominantly on a complex web of romantic relationships, and how they messily intertwine in various ways.

Eponymous builder Henry Solness has a fractured, tumultuous relationship with his long-suffering wife Elena, after a toxic mess of infidelity and extramarital affairs, primarily between Henry and former student Mathilde, drive a stake in between the two, and this comes to a head in the second act when we get to the crux of the pair's story. This all whilst Elena has developed feelings for Henry's protege Ragnar, of which he is painfully aware, and consequently tries to hide his relationship with Kaia, whom is under Elena's employment. And though Raicek and director Michael Grandage fairly successfully, through the text, depict how this cascade of dishonesty and general animosity within these various relationships can eat away at people's psychological state, its overall execution and how it's presented was fairly glib and insubstantial.

Kate Fleetwood and Ewan McGregor (credit: Johan Persson)

This is where superstar casting of Ewan McGregor comes into the conversation, the largely big screen performer, best known for Star Wars and Moulin Rouge, may as well have been in a galaxy far, far away as he gives a fairly unmemorable account of himself. He is self-assured, but his take on Henry lacks refinement. Additionally it is difficult to root for Henry and Mathilde, the latter played by Elizabeth Debicki, who herself is actually a terrific standout, however, in spite of the pretext of said relationship being pretty well set out, it has to be said that it is not entirely convincing, and is very surface level.

Kate Fleetwood is another hugely talented performer, and probably gives the strongest performance on that stage, her portrayal of Elena is wonderfully nuanced, and her grading of the character's diminishing mental state is truly excellent. Her on-stage partnership with McGregor was marginally more believable, but Fleetwood certainly carries that relationship. The pair whom most successfully drew us in were David Ajala and Mirren Mack as Ragnar and Kaia respectively, in a relationship brimming with youthful energy and passion, as is often synonymous with not only fairly new romantic connections, but also ones where one or both have to hide it from someone. This is evident through the pair's charming and engaging performances, both individually and collectively.

Ewan McGregor, Elizabeth Debicki and Kate Fleetwood (credit: Johan Persson)

It does feel a little sad to say that the overall star of a show is how it looks, but we absolutely have to single out Richard Kent for some absolutely stunning scenic design, the minimal, modernistic cathedral design of which Henry is so proud, which flies out to reveal some gorgeous interior design, an oceanic backdrop which proves multifunctional, as the set transforms from a living area, to an exterior seaside promenade, and finally to the beach. Kent, along with lighting from Paule Constable, help keep us grounded and centred, as we attempt to circumnavigate Raicek's engaging yet puzzlingly shallow narrative.

Perhaps the biggest conclusion to be drawn from this new reimagining of Ibsen's original work is that it is ok to leave the classics alone, or at least that if you're going to put your own spin on a work from centuries past, give it a little depth, something in which "My Master Builder" is rather lacking. It is a generally well performed and engaging, yet underwhelming piece that didn't do nearly enough to make us feel this tortuous tangle of romantic strands were anything more than a nicely dressed melodrama.

★★☆☆☆

"My Master Builder" plays at Wydham's Theatre until the 12th of July