Posterity is a 2015 play written and directed by the Pulitzer Prize-award-winning American playwright Doug Wright. The play focuses on the 1901 encounters between Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland and famed playwright Henrik Ibsen, when the latter sat for a series of sessions to have his bust sculpted. It premiered off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Company's Linda Gross Theater[1][2]

Posterity
Written byDoug Wright
Directed byDoug Wright
Date premiered25 February 2015
Place premieredAtlantic Theatre Company
Original languageEnglish
Subjectsculpting, legacy, art, death
GenreDrama
Setting1901 Norway

Summary

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Norway's most celebrated sculptor Gustav Vigeland (Linklater) is commissioned to create the last official portrait of the country's most famous writer, but Henrik Ibsen (Noble) proves to be an irascible, contentious sitter, as the two men wage war over both his legacy and his likeness.[3][4]

Cast

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Character Atlantic Theatre Company
2015
Gustav Vigeland Hamish Linklater
Henrik Ibsen John Noble
Greta Bergstrom Dale Soules|
Sophus Larpent Henry Stram
Anfinn Beck Mickey Theis

Productions

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The production premiered at the Atlantic Theatre Company's Linda Gross Theatre in 2015 running from February 25 through April 5.

Reception

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Critical reception

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Critical reception for the play was mostly positive with some mixed reviews.[5] David Cote of Time Out New York praised Wright in particular writing, "[He] makes ideas dance and grounds them in rich, feeling characters. Like a good sculptor, he makes dense material breathe true. Wright directs with a nice balance of pomp and earthy sass".[6] The Hollywood Reporter praised Wright for his writing declaring "[it's] undeniably smart in a historically educational sort of way, and the insightful dialogue illuminates both main characters" but criticized his direction describing it as "staging is self-indulgent to the point of tedium. But he has elicited fine performances from the two leads".[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Review: Posterity". Tribeca News. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Posterity". Atlantic Theatre Company. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Doug Wright's Posterity, Starring Hamish Linklater and John Noble, Begins Tonight Off-Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Posterity". Dramatists Play Service. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Posterity: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Posterity". Time Out. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  7. ^ "'Posterity': Theater Review". February 25, 2024.