Theatre for a New Audience Presents
THE WILD DUCK
By Henrik Ibsen
In a new version by David Eldridge
Directed by Simon Godwin
A Co-Production with Shakespeare Theatre Company
GET A NEW DEAL TICKET TO ANY PERFORMANCE FOR JUST $20!*
If you are 30 years old or under OR a full-time student of any age, you can purchase a $20 New Deal ticket (up to $95 value). Choose your seat, choose ticket type New Deal (change from Standard), and use promo code NEWDEALSKINT. ONE ID PER TICKET, FOR OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS – SEE BELOW.
YOU’RE INVITED TO OUR NEW DEAL NIGHT!
If you’re eligible for the New Deal, join us at New Deal Night on Saturday, September 13! Buy your $20 New Deal ticket for the 7:30PM performance of The Wild Duck and stay for a free post-show talkback with writer David Eldridge and moderator Paul Walsh. This talkback will be immediately followed by a party at Fulton Hall with complimentary food and drinks and wonderful opportunities to connect with other artists and theatregoers.
SINGLE TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR ANYONE FOR $65** WITH CODE SKINT65!
GET TICKETS AT TFANA.ORG
Ibsen’s 1884 play The Wild Duck is an accessible, provocative, modern drama centered in a family.
Gregers Werle, the idealistic and dogmatic son of a wealthy businessman, wreaks havoc when he embarks on a crusade to unveil the false foundations of the life of his friend, Hjalmar Ekdal. Ignorant of the adults’ machinations, Hedvig, a young girl, tries to shield the fragile eponymous duck from the injuries of the world. Gregers’ imposition of “righteousness” however, leads to turmoil and death. Ibsen’s genius was to create complex characters who compel us with their humanity.
Director Simon Godwin observes, “Ibsen was consciously trying to redirect us from the easy classification of ‘this is a comedy, this is a tragedy.’ And he was following the steps of the late plays of Shakespeare in recognizing that we can move dexterously from something that makes us smile to something that makes us cry. The tragedy and the comedy are a ‘mingled yarn’ (to quote Shakespeare) of emotional possibility. We are drawn into a very compelling story and left to consider the role of truth in our own lives.”
Simon Godwin (Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya starring Hugh Bonneville and Shakespeare’s Macbeth with Indira Varma and Ralph Fiennes), Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company, returns to TFANA (Measure for Measure and Timon of Athens) to direct this rarely produced Ibsen masterpiece.
David Eldridge’s version had its world premiere at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2005. Michael Billington wrote “Eldridge brings out Ibsen’s permanent relevance without any textual coarsening…The Wild Duck explains why Ibsen is the greatest dramatist after Shakespeare” (The Guardian). This is the first major Off-Broadway production of the play in the Eldridge version.
DIRECTOR SIMON GODWIN DISCUSSES THE WILD DUCK
Polonsky Shakespeare Center: 262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217
* Each New Deal ticket holder must be 30 years of age and under, or a full-time student. A valid ID proving eligibility must be presented for each ticket purchased. IDs must be presented at entry beginning two hours prior to curtain. Failure to show proof of age or student ID will result in a surcharge for a full price ticket.
** $65 ticket discount offer expires 9/28/2025. Full price up to $95. Subject to availability. All internet and phone orders are subject to a handling fee. The offer may be discontinued at any time. Not valid for previous purchases.
Summer Box Office hours are Monday–Thursday, 1PM-6PM; Friday, 12PM-3PM; closed Saturday and Sunday. It can be reached at 646-553-3880 or tickets@TFANA.org.
Face masks are encouraged, but not required.
Click here to learn more about our policy on refunds and exchanges.
Design by Paul Davis Studio / Paige Restaino
Additional generous support for this production has been provided by The Brandt Jackson Foundation.
Deloitte and Bloomberg Philanthropies are the 2025-2026 Season Sponsors.
Principal support for Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs is provided by Alan Beller and Stephanie Neville, The Jerome and Marlène Brody Foundation, Robert E. Buckholz and Lizanne Fontaine, Constance Christensen, The Hearst Foundations, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Jerome L. Greene Foundation Fund at the New York Community Trust, The Polonsky Foundation, The SHS Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Thompson Family Foundation.
Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs are also made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities; Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
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