Hedda, the proud and willful daughter of General Gabler, newly married to George Tesman, returns from her honeymoon to Norway. She chafes at the prospect of a dull life in a loveless marriage until a former lover, Eilert Løvborg, returns and throws their financial future into disarray. The appearance of Hedda’s old schoolmate Thea, who wants to reform Løvborg, and Judge Brack, who wants Hedda in his power, leave her struggling to build the life she wants.
Hedda Gabler was first performed in Munich in 1891, and within months there were productions in Berlin, Copenhagen, London, and New York. It was Ibsen’s first play to be translated from proofs before performance or publication. Productions of the play have won two Olivier Awards and been broadcast in multiple countries; since 1917, it has been adapted into more than a dozen feature films in almost as many languages.