Review: Ghislaine/Gabler

Created and performed by Croatian-American Kristin Winters, with original music by Alexey Kochetkov, this character study of Ghislaine Maxwell provides more questions than it answers. Drawing parallels between the British former socialite and Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler creates a recipe for confusion.

Most people will be aware of convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, while, arguably, the same cannot be said for Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 play. Winters brings the audience up to speed with a paragraph about Hedda Gabler, but anyone who hears it for the first time is already on the backfoot. Without intimate knowledge about both parties, the comparisons between two privileged women controlled by domineering men become less impactful than intended.

Alone in her cell, Ghislaine fantasises about Gabler and relives her past. Winters acts out her emotional turmoil, wriggling around the stage in dreamlike sequences that are too long and do little more than showcase her own agility. But the most problematic part of the play is the patronising depiction of Epstein’s victims; one of them reduced to a baby-voiced teenage stereotype in Winters’ attempt to depict how young she was at the time of the abuse.

Portraying Ghislaine Maxell as both villain and victim, Winters aims to explore a complex woman rather than a monster. This is an interesting approach, and Winters is an accomplished performer, but unfortunately this overcomplicated production doesn’t live up to its ambitions.