Southend Shakespeare Company presents
HEDDA GABLER
by Henrik Ibsen
Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre
25th April – 29th April 2023
Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat at 7.45pm Sat Mat 3.00pm
HEDDA GABLER
by Henrik Ibsen
Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre
25th April – 29th April 2023
Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat at 7.45pm Sat Mat 3.00pm
Hedda Gabler returns dissatisfied from a long honeymoon.
Bored with her academic husband and aided and abetted by her confidant, Judge Brack, she begins to manipulate the fates of those around her to devastating effect.
Laced with dark humour, Hedda Gabler is widely acknowledged as one of Ibsen’s greatest plays. The title character is considered one of the great dramatic roles in theatre and has been described as a female version of Hamlet. Check out our Curtain Call feature with Elena Clements, who plays Hedda below.
Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre
25th April – 29th April 2023
Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat at 7.45pm Sat Mat 3.00pm
£16.00 / Concs. £1.50 off
For more information about the SSC visit their website at
southendshakespeare.org.uk
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Bored with her academic husband and aided and abetted by her confidant, Judge Brack, she begins to manipulate the fates of those around her to devastating effect.
Laced with dark humour, Hedda Gabler is widely acknowledged as one of Ibsen’s greatest plays. The title character is considered one of the great dramatic roles in theatre and has been described as a female version of Hamlet. Check out our Curtain Call feature with Elena Clements, who plays Hedda below.
Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre
25th April – 29th April 2023
Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat at 7.45pm Sat Mat 3.00pm
£16.00 / Concs. £1.50 off
For more information about the SSC visit their website at
southendshakespeare.org.uk
CURTAIN CALL
with Elena Clements, 31, from Leigh on Sea, who plays the titular role of Hedda Gabler
with Elena Clements, 31, from Leigh on Sea, who plays the titular role of Hedda Gabler
When did you start to take an interest in theatre? Did you take part in any productions at school?
I didn’t do much drama at school, instead I was a part of the Southend Shakespeare Company. I was in my first production when I was 13 in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I played one of the silent courtiers (standing at the back). Before then I was definitely around; my parents met whilst in the company, so it’s been a big part of my life!
Are or were any members of your immediate family involved in drama?
We all are! It’s like a travelling circus.
Have you done any sort of formal training for acting/singing/dancing?
I trained at drama school in Manchester, and before that I was in a choir for many years too. Don’t ask me to learn any choreography though, I’m terrible!
Do you have any specialist skills – anything from stilt walking to dress-making – which you work into your repertoire?
I’m quite musical and have played many instruments whilst on stage from ukuleles to harmoniums.
Which experience/role do you regard as the highlight of your amdram career to date?
I would say that playing Hedda is going to be the big career highlight for me. Over the years I’ve enjoyed being in comedies the most. Despite me being quite serious as Hedda, I do love being in a comic role. I enjoyed being the maid in the French farce A Flea In Her Ear before I went to university back in 2010.
What has been your most embarrassing moment involving drama, on or off stage?
I remember playing Joan of Arc in Henry VI pt 1 and no one being there to capture me to be burnt at the stake (!) I think I ended up running back off in false distress, and we laughed so much about it afterwards. History could have been very different!
Do you have a day job?
I am a Wellbeing Advisor at a University in London. I help students who have mental health conditions or disabilities get the help they need at university. I’m going into my second year of my masters’ degree in Psychotherapy at the moment too.
Following on from the previous question, has your theatre career ever been useful in your day job, and/or have you ever drawn on your day job for any of your stage activities?
My job involves a lot of talking to people in distress and listening to their needs. I suppose acting teaches you to always be on the ball and listen to the scene you’re in. Being in the SSC is great for social skills, public speaking and working as a team so that all goes well at work too!
Are your friends mostly involved in theatre - perhaps even working with you on a regular basis - or do you socialise across a wider circle?
I’ve got lots of close friends in the company including family members. I’ve had a varied life so far and I have got friends from lots of different times of my life and it’s been lovely that people outside the company are coming to see me play Hedda.
Which actor do you most admire and why?
I don’t think I have any actor idols. I like watching films and stealing little acting tips or moments from the ones that have impressed me the most. I admire friends who are great actors in the company and from my time in Manchester. Saying this, friends have said I revert to ‘Florence Pugh acting’ when I’m upset on stage. A compliment I’m sure!
What role would you most like to play and why?
I never knew I really wanted to play Hedda until it was announced that the SSC were going to do it. It’s probably been the most suited to me so far. Who knows, I just love being part of the community and any role is always fun. It’s the people that make it!
Ever corpsed on stage? What happened?
I remember playing a customer in a café during a play called The Venetian Twins and stifling a laugh! I think we all just looked down at our pretend coffees.
Tell us a bit about "Hedda Gabler"
Hedda Gabler is a play about a woman unhappy in her marriage. The people around her have different influences over her fate and make her think about what life she could have had. Things turn upside down when someone from the past comes to visit her and Hedda starts to question the future.
I’ve loved getting into the role and exploring all the different aspects of her character. I’ve learnt that she’s so irrational and complex that I’ve stopped trying to make sense of her and play each scene as truthfully as possible. I hope that I’ve done the part justice and I’m so lucky to have the amazing cast we do playing the other parts. It’s definitely felt like more like an ensemble play and it’s going to be sad when it all comes to an end.
Any plans for the future, after "Hedda Gabler”?
More times with the SSC and maybe I might even direct something one day.
Any tricks for remembering your lines or other useful tips to pass on to others involved in drama?
I wish there was. I started learning my lines for Hedda one page at a time. I started on Boxing Day 2022. With over 600 lines, I would advise starting as early as possible so you can just enjoy acting and being with your friends at rehearsals.
I didn’t do much drama at school, instead I was a part of the Southend Shakespeare Company. I was in my first production when I was 13 in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I played one of the silent courtiers (standing at the back). Before then I was definitely around; my parents met whilst in the company, so it’s been a big part of my life!
Are or were any members of your immediate family involved in drama?
We all are! It’s like a travelling circus.
Have you done any sort of formal training for acting/singing/dancing?
I trained at drama school in Manchester, and before that I was in a choir for many years too. Don’t ask me to learn any choreography though, I’m terrible!
Do you have any specialist skills – anything from stilt walking to dress-making – which you work into your repertoire?
I’m quite musical and have played many instruments whilst on stage from ukuleles to harmoniums.
Which experience/role do you regard as the highlight of your amdram career to date?
I would say that playing Hedda is going to be the big career highlight for me. Over the years I’ve enjoyed being in comedies the most. Despite me being quite serious as Hedda, I do love being in a comic role. I enjoyed being the maid in the French farce A Flea In Her Ear before I went to university back in 2010.
What has been your most embarrassing moment involving drama, on or off stage?
I remember playing Joan of Arc in Henry VI pt 1 and no one being there to capture me to be burnt at the stake (!) I think I ended up running back off in false distress, and we laughed so much about it afterwards. History could have been very different!
Do you have a day job?
I am a Wellbeing Advisor at a University in London. I help students who have mental health conditions or disabilities get the help they need at university. I’m going into my second year of my masters’ degree in Psychotherapy at the moment too.
Following on from the previous question, has your theatre career ever been useful in your day job, and/or have you ever drawn on your day job for any of your stage activities?
My job involves a lot of talking to people in distress and listening to their needs. I suppose acting teaches you to always be on the ball and listen to the scene you’re in. Being in the SSC is great for social skills, public speaking and working as a team so that all goes well at work too!
Are your friends mostly involved in theatre - perhaps even working with you on a regular basis - or do you socialise across a wider circle?
I’ve got lots of close friends in the company including family members. I’ve had a varied life so far and I have got friends from lots of different times of my life and it’s been lovely that people outside the company are coming to see me play Hedda.
Which actor do you most admire and why?
I don’t think I have any actor idols. I like watching films and stealing little acting tips or moments from the ones that have impressed me the most. I admire friends who are great actors in the company and from my time in Manchester. Saying this, friends have said I revert to ‘Florence Pugh acting’ when I’m upset on stage. A compliment I’m sure!
What role would you most like to play and why?
I never knew I really wanted to play Hedda until it was announced that the SSC were going to do it. It’s probably been the most suited to me so far. Who knows, I just love being part of the community and any role is always fun. It’s the people that make it!
Ever corpsed on stage? What happened?
I remember playing a customer in a café during a play called The Venetian Twins and stifling a laugh! I think we all just looked down at our pretend coffees.
Tell us a bit about "Hedda Gabler"
Hedda Gabler is a play about a woman unhappy in her marriage. The people around her have different influences over her fate and make her think about what life she could have had. Things turn upside down when someone from the past comes to visit her and Hedda starts to question the future.
I’ve loved getting into the role and exploring all the different aspects of her character. I’ve learnt that she’s so irrational and complex that I’ve stopped trying to make sense of her and play each scene as truthfully as possible. I hope that I’ve done the part justice and I’m so lucky to have the amazing cast we do playing the other parts. It’s definitely felt like more like an ensemble play and it’s going to be sad when it all comes to an end.
Any plans for the future, after "Hedda Gabler”?
More times with the SSC and maybe I might even direct something one day.
Any tricks for remembering your lines or other useful tips to pass on to others involved in drama?
I wish there was. I started learning my lines for Hedda one page at a time. I started on Boxing Day 2022. With over 600 lines, I would advise starting as early as possible so you can just enjoy acting and being with your friends at rehearsals.