Jorgen is described as ‘a man of 33, of middle height and youthful appearance; slightly plump, his face round, open and cheerful. Fair hair and beard. He wears glasses, and is dressed comfortable, slightly slovenly, indoor clothes.’ Whereas Ejlert’s description reads ‘He is slim and lean; the same age as Tesman, but looks older and a little haggard. Hair and beard dark brown, face longish and pale, patches of colour on either cheekbone. He is dressed in an elegant, black, and quite new suit. Dark gloves and a top hat in his hands.’ If I were to direct the performance, I would cast the actors in such a way that their external differences represent that of their internal; I would cast Jorgen with an actor slightly smaller than the actress playing Hedda in order to symbolise his lack of power within the relationship. He would be large, although not fat, as I would like the audience to view him as carrying puppy fat and therefore physically represent his childlike innocence. I want it to be obvious that he has been well looked-after throughout his life. In contrast I would cast Ejlert as very thin, which would suggest that he, unlike Jorgen, doesn’t have the money or loving family to ensure his well being. I would prefer the actor playing Jorgen to have bright blond hair cut in a child’s typical style. Again this would be to emphasise his childish personality, such as still relying on his old aunt, Julle. However, I want his hair to also symbolise a bright and happy personality, whereas in contrast, I would cast Ejlert to have long, unkempt black hair, which similarly, would represent his dark, mysterious and disorderly personality. Ejlert should look tired and withdrawn, as if having lost the purpose to his life. On the other hand, Jorgen should look healthy, with rosy cheeks and an easy smile.
In one of the first interactions between Jorgen and Hedda, after Julle leaves, Jorgen asks Hedda to be affectionate towards his aunt. Although the request is not particularly big, Hedda still refuses. In this scene it is essential to show the power that Hedda has, and therefore the lack of power Jorgen holds, to the audience. When Jorgen says, “Yes, certainly I will. And there’s another thing, Hedda, that would make her so very happy,” I would direct Jorgen to stand behind Hedda, as she gazes out of the window. He should go to touch her shoulder, but think better of it and start to speak. I would have him speak very slowly, and seem unsure of himself. He should emphasise the words ‘so very happy’ to seem like he is almost begging. When she refuses, I would direct Jorgen to turn away from Hedda, lower his head, as if hiding his disappointment and very quietly say ‘Oh well’ in a manner of defeat. He should take a few steps forward and then turn back and say “I just thought, now that you belong to the family, you…” before Hedda dismisses him and walks away. Tesman warns Hedda to be nicer to Aunt Julle, which shows that he recognises Hedda's rudeness but refuses to acknowledge the real problem - that Hedda is spoiled and treats him badly. Hedda's disregard for Tesman's feelings is illustrated by her refusal to affection towards his beloved aunt. I want the audience to feel sympathy for both Jorgen and Hedda. On one hand they should pity Jorgen for having to put up with the way in which Hedda treats him. However, on the other hand the audience will sympathise with Hedda because they can see how difficult it is to tolerate Jorgen’s desperation to please.
In Hedda and Ejlert’s first private conversation Ejlert correctly guesses that Hedda does not love Tesman and asks whether she ever loved Ejlert. She admits that it was thrilling to share a special intimacy with him unknown to anyone else. The manner in Ejlert speaks to Hedda is very different to that of Jorgen’s manner. He seems much more at ease with her than Jorgen and is not afraid of her reactions to his questions or comment. For example, Ejlert almost demands Hedda to “answer me just this one question.” Here, I would direct Ejlert to sit back and look at Hedda intently before asking her sternly to answer his queries. He shout sit with his elbow leaning on the table and his legs slightly apart and stretched out. When Ejlert asks “Was there no love in your relationship to me either? …not a suspicion of love in that either?” he should ask her without pause or embarrassment. Although when the play was written, such subjects and questions would not have been deemed appropriate between a single man and a married woman. However, I want to show Hedda and Ejlert’s relationship as very informal and relaxed. It is clear that Hedda still holds Ejlert in high regard, however, she still likes to try and control him. I would like the audience to understand the feelings that Hedda and Ejlert still hold for each other but to also feel anger towards Hedda for treating both Jorgen and Ejlert unfairly. They will probably feel wary of Ejlert at first but I would like the audience to warm to him through his relaxed manner.
Through contrasting the characters of Jorgen and Ejlert, I wish to create a dark and light style opposition between the two. Although neither is good nor evil, I want the audience to see the huge contrast and hence understand the conflict between them. The audience should want both Jorgen and Ejlert to ‘win’ whilst at the same time, they dislike their worse points. This should further intensify the relationships Hedda has with the men and therefore creates more tension for the audience within the unravelling story.
