Ian McDiarmid and Penelope Wilton star in Ibsen’s damning exploration of selfish ambition.

Disgraced and destitute following a fraud scandal and imprisonment, John Gabriel Borkman paces alone in an upstairs room. Downstairs his family is trapped in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a household bound for explosion.

McDiarmid, who plays Borkman, is the former Artistic Director of the Almeida. He has previously worked at the Donmar in Pirandello’s Henry IV, when he was also directed by Grandage, while he has also worked at the Almeida, RSC and Royal Exchange. McDiarmid received a 2006 Tony Award for his performance in Faith Healer on Broadway, and among his film work is the Star Wars series in which he played the evil Palpatine.

Penelope Wilton has previously appeared at the Donmar in Little Foxes. Her other London credits include The House Of Bernarda Alba at the National and Afterplay at the Gielgud, while her voice taunted Michael Gambon in Beckett’s Eh Joe at the Duke Of York’s. 

For more information about this production, please read our First Night Feature.