Ghosts...haunt us all

I was pleasantly surprised to see a London play in the cinema in Oxford; specifically, Richard Eyre’s Olivier-winning adaptation of Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen. I remember studying this play in grade 12 and not being sure I had totally understood it - how could I have, given my very conservative upbringing! I guess my teachers thought they were quite radical, but I am absolutely stunned by how contemporary this play really is, given that it was written in 1881. Helene Alving (Lesley Manville) has dutifully lived a respectable life while suspended in an emotional void after the death of her cruel but outwardly charming husband. She is determined to confront her past and tell her son Oswald (Jack Lowden), the truth about his father. However, she is thwarted, as Oswald returns from his life as a painter in France, demonstrating too bluntly how has inherited the legacy of his father's dissolute life. Although the play is essentially quite dark, it creates a sense of recognition and exhiliration for the freedoms we actually have and a determination not to become bored and indifferent to life.