Stephen Dillane and Gemma Arteton star in Preston's production of The Master Builder

The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen,
dir Travis Preston, Almeida,
12th November-8th January 2011

Quietly picking off the big roles at his own pace, Stephen Dillane is the most interesting of the less headline-hogging leading actors, bringing his own brand of dark intensity and keen intelligence to bear on Hamlet, Uncle Vanya and Prospero.

With American director Travis Preston, Dillane brought an astonishing Macbeth to the Almeida five years ago. The pair now tackle The Master Builder, a still-extraordinary Freudian drama, in which the young Hilde Wangel confesses to ageing architect Halvard Solness that she had her first sexual experience watching him climb a tower. The 1892 play is analogous to Ibsen’s unhappy marriage and infatuation with a younger woman, but resonates as a modern domestic and professional tragedy.

Dillane is a master of hidden depths