John Gabriel Borkman

Abbey Theatre, Dublin Previews until Oct 12th. Opens Oct 13-Nov 20 7.30pm (Sat mat 2pm) 18-40 01-8787222 abbeytheatre.ie

The title character in Henrik Ibsen’s second-last play is widely considered to be his most detestable. Borkman is a disgraced banker, who sold out his ideals of love and honour, abandoned his real sweetheart for a more profitable match in her sister, and funded his industrial visions through embezzlement. His downfall is, essentially, the punishment for a moral crime. Yet audiences already seem extremely keen to meet him. Here’s why: in the Abbey’s premiere of Frank McGuinness’s new adaptation, Borkman is played by Alan Rickman, an actor famous for finding the seductive qualities in villainy and the tortured conscience behind moral corrosion.

Rickman’s is not the only star power on display: Fiona Shaw (left) and Lyndsay Duncan play the competing sisters, whose struggle over his son represents a battle for the future, and director James Macdonald has commanded a largely imported design team. Edvard Munch called the play “the most powerful snow landscape in all Nordic art”, but the anticipation for it, which has been engulfing the Abbey’s website for some time now, is anything but cool. Perhaps it’s the prospect of seeing a corrupt banker finally brought to justice, but it seems John Gabriel Borkman is once again banking on success.