PATRICK Stewart has been used to intergalactic adventures as Captain Jean Luc Picard aboard the Starship Enterprise but he also travels back in time, in a sense, in Henrik Ibsen's The Master Builder.
The 19th century tale marks a return to Stewart's theatrical roots, as he portrays an achiever who has reached the top of his profession but trampled over others to do so.
Rather than enjoying the fruits of his - and others' - labours, master builder Halvard Solness (Stewart) is troubled by his advancing years and the threat he perceives from youth.
The insecurities of wife, Aline (Sue Johnston), fuelled by Halvard's eye for much younger women, help stoke a perpetual air of tension in their household.
Into this unstable situation comes Hilda Wangel (Lisa Dillon), a girl infatuated in her rose-tinted view of the master builder and obsessed by a vision of a fairy tale future.
Equally misguided is Halvard, who buys into Hilda's delusions rather than recognise them for the neuroses they are.
It is a pathetic situation, involving, on one hand, a craftsman who has achieved one ambition but is dissatisfied with it.
On the other is a young woman with her whole life ahead of her but pursuing an impossible dream.
As the play heads for its dramatic conclusion, Stewart and Johnston turn in solid performances, while Dillon displays real promise.
The Master Builder runs at Malvern Theatres until Saturday.
REVIEW BY PETER MCMILLAN
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