Brand (1866)

I feel bad giving this only two stars. For all I know, Ibsen's play is a masterpiece; Hill's version here is certainly very Hill-like, which I appreciate (combining brutal satire, high language and a distinct aura of ambiguity). But as a reading experience... it's not all that hot. It starts out quite symbolically, then for most of the play is fairly realistic, then ends with a rush of symbolism once more. These sections, in Hill's version at least, seem a little disjointed (and fair enough, too. It'd be a tough transition to make for anyone). Brand himself seems like a perfectly human character, inasmuch as most humans are 'unrealistic;' a strange effect of this play is that the seemingly 'realistic' characters end up seeming unrealistically worldly, while the least realistic character seems entirely human. And this brings me to the obvious value of all this, which is that it's an excellent incentive to thinking and puzzling out why you feel x and y about these characters and their statements. Are absolute ideals something to be cherished and admired? Is a pragmatic attitude towards the world always to be scorned? And vice versa.
That said, I'd put this in the lineage of Zarathustra and Kierkegaard rather than, say, Faust or Flaubert's St Antony. The latter work well as works of literature as well as intellectual bon-bons; Hill's remarkably flexible poetry aside, this works best as a bon-bon. ( )

Extraordinarily good edition of Ibsen's long and difficult four-act play about a stern priest who cannot understand the true nature of love. Written in verse (Hill, a poet himself, produced this version from a literal translation of the original he was supplied with by a native speaker of Norwegian), it is a delight to read and to hear on the stage. ( )

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Et sammensatt dramatisk diktverk om mennesker i konflikt og dyptgripende sjelestrid. Med Bjarte Hjelmeland, Trine Wiggen, Gisken Armand, Kim Haugen, Reidar Sørensen, Øyvind Gran og Trond Høvik. Musikk: Åsmund Feidje. Produsent og bearbeidelse: Carl Henrik Grøndahl. ( )