The Wild Duck

Overview

verb. to duck

1. a quick lowering of the head (to avoid a blow or so as not to be seen)
2. depart quickly
3. avoid

noun. wild duck (more commonly known as mallard duck or anas platyrhynchos) – an undomesticated duck.

note. Due to its beautiful feathers, the mallard duck is one of the most popular ducks for hunters. When injured or threatened, ducks have been alleged to commit suicide, by diving to the bottom of the water, never returning to the surface.

Critic reviews

Amid antisocial media and fake news, this apparently domestic drama resonates hugely. What are the lies we need to help us live?

⋅ The Times

Robert Icke brings irresistible emotional clout

⋅ The Telegraph

Meta, merciless and altogether brilliant

⋅ Arts Desk

It's brutal, beautiful, and borderline brilliant

⋅ WhatsOnStage

The genius of Icke’s The Wild Duck is that it delivers all the meta-theatrical cleverness without becoming self-obsessed bollocks

Exeunt

This play has the most tragic conclusion a play could have, and by that point, Icke has managed to open you up, make you think about the world around you, and pushed you to the limits of nerve and emotion

⋅ London Theatre

Robert Icke breathes life into Ibsen's play of secrets and lies

⋅ The Stage

Robert Icke lays bare the emotional heart of Ibsen's brutal classic

⋅ Evening Standard

It’s so well conceived that it can feel over controlled, a theatrical thesis that pre-empts its conclusions, but its commitment to truth, and to theatre, never caves

⋅ Financial Times