Award-winning Springbok Production House is bringing a fresh and challenging queer adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler to the stage. Quickly becoming one of the most exciting voices in off West End theatre, Springbok continues its streak of bold, thought-provoking works. Directed by Josh Maughan and adapted by Dan Sinclair, this production, starring Joe Harrington, will run from 21st January to 1st February 2025 at the Golden Goose Theatre.
In this bold interpretation, the spotlight is on the queer community—specifically the vibrant, yet fraught, world of art, theatre, and performance. Set against the backdrop of 2024 London, where Soho is no longer the bohemian haven it once was, Hedda Gabler (this is not bohemia) tears through the surface of queer culture to reveal a landscape of inequality, prejudice, and internal struggle.
The production interrogates pressing issues plaguing the community: class divides between drag queens and kings, the looming closure of iconic venues like the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, rampant biphobia, the harmful “twink death” trope, and the gentrification of camp and club kid culture. With an unflinching gaze, it delves into transphobia, chemsex culture, eating disorders, fatphobia, and the legacy of Section 28, exposing the ways in which these challenges still limit the community’s freedoms today.
Drawing parallels between 1890s Norway and modern-day London, Hedda Gabler (this is not bohemia) asks whether queer individuals will continue to ignore, perpetuate, or attempt to escape the toxic influences of their surrounding society. Just as those aspiring to climb the social ladder in Ibsen’s world lived in large villas and attended dinner parties, in 2024, the queer elite inhabit Soho townhouses and frequent Dalston Superstore.
Following his direction of the award-nominated Eucharist this Summer, Josh Maughan (Nice Jewish Boy, Our 1972) directs this adaptation which seeks to reignite the tragic downfall of Hedda Gabler in a way that challenges today’s queer audience to reflect on their own experiences and collective struggles. Maughan is joined by Dan Sinclair, a new addition to the Springbok team with a track record of exceptional and thrilling writing projects. The creative team is thrilled to announce Joe Harrington (Scenes With Boys) as the titular character, Hedda.
Tickets are now on sale, all £12 as part of a special early bird scheme in the spirit of accessible theatre for audiences.
Note, in doubt of what to expect: Listen to CPR by Lynks on full volume, smoke a cigarette and text your homoerotic teenage friendship and tell them that you miss them and you should catch-up.
