The Wild Duck

Written by Henrik Ibsen

Narrated by Sean Connoll, Denny Hodge, Helen Oakleigh and 4 more

Should the truth be pursued whatever the cost? The idealistic son of a wealthy businessman seeks to expose his father's duplicity and to free his childhood friend from the lies on which his happy home life is based. When skeletons are brought out of the closet, the foundations of the Ekdal family are torn apart - with drastic consequences...

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Copyright Group
• Release date: Jan 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780003696

Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright who thrived during the late nineteenth century. He began his professional career at age 15 as a pharmacist’s apprentice. He would spend his free time writing plays, publishing his first work Catilina in 1850, followed by The Burial Mound that same year. He eventually earned a position as a theatre director and began producing his own material. Ibsen’s prolific catalogue is noted for depicting modern and real topics. His major titles include Brand, Peer Gynt and Hedda Gabler.

Reviews for The Wild Duck

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. The fatal flaw of hubris makes Hialmar into a tragic anti-hero with Gregers as his well-meaning but evil nemesis.

[takeitorleaveit_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Swan Lake+Bizzare Love Triangle = Ibsen's The Wild Duck. At first a dull tale turns into a riveting one about deceit, sorrow, greed, despair and misunderstanding. A life goal would be to direct Ibsen's brilliant play in a post-modern adaptation.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The tragedy of this play is not that truth is revealed. It is that there is no saving human love. Gregers is like a blast of unfeeling idealism. Not only does he see what is true, but he refuses to accept any truth that doesn't fit his conception of "how" humans should behave. He wants lies exposed not to bring resolution and closeness, but to "punish" bad behavior. The ironic thing about this play is that Hjalmar doesn't really care about the truth until he is forced to - and even then, if Gregers had left things alone, there are clear signs that Hjalmar would have been talked back into his regular life. It is only his daughter that bears the full brunt of the tragedy.

[jpsnow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having also read Roshersholm, I see why The Wild Duck is oft cited as one of his best.