I’m all for reuse and recycling, but modern reimaginings of classic plays rarely work. More often than not, they feel like conceptual show homes: stylish on the surface, structurally unsound underneath.
In My Master Builder, Lila Raicek takes Ibsen’s original—characters, basic plot, the whole lot—and rebuilds it as a female-centric story. To be fair, her text is mostly solid. There are sharp lines and the occasional cult-architect name drop for design nerds. Yes, it veers into melodrama a little too often, but it’s far from the worst modern spin on a classical foundation.
The plot loosely follows Ibsen’s: an ageing architect clings to past glory while facing a crisis of relevance, both professional and personal. In Raicek’s version, the focus shifts to his wife, reimagined as the emotional and intellectual centre, and to the young former student who reappears to destabilise their fragile balance. It’s a play about obsession and the blurred lines between mentorship and manipulation, with just enough scaffolding from Ibsen to hold it all up. In theory, at least.
The trouble starts with the delivery. Ewan McGregor—back on stage after nearly two decades—performs with enthusiasm, mostly while perched on a wooden beam. But there’s no chemistry between him and Elizabeth Debicki, who plays his former student and increasingly improbable love interest. Kate Fleetwood, as the wife and supposed emotional anchor, struggles to find footing opposite McGregor. Only the supporting cast—David Ajala and Mirren Mack—seems determined to keep the structure from collapsing.
By the end, the whole thing buckles under the weight of its own ambition. What this play needed wasn’t an architect—it was a structural engineer.
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My Master Builder
Wyndham’s Theatre, London
Written by Lila Raicek, based on a play by Henrik Ibsen
Directed by Michael Grandage
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Kate Fleetwood, Elizabeth Debicki, David Ajala, Mirren Mack
Elia Kabanov is a science writer covering the past, present and future of technology (@metkere).
Illustration by Elia Kabanov feat. DALL-E.
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