Brand (review)

Henrik Ibsen's Brand, the willfully self-absorbed Christian visionary and self-appointed Lutheran enforcer, has a good deal to say to a modern audience. Ibsen's youthful playwas a shrewd choice for a new production by the Royal Shakespeare Company. At a time when world political leaders are willing to engage in idealistic regime changes with apparent indifference to their consequences, Ibsen's anti-Faust—a man who pursues a painfully limited vision and destroys people around him—now seems like a highly relevant figure. Casting Ralph Fiennes as Brand was remarkably apt, as the role taps directly into the actor's considerable strengths. As impressive as he is on-screen, Fiennes has often seemed too restrained or sullen on the stage. But as the smart, self-deluding minister, Fiennes makes austerity and an appalling indifference to the feelings of others seem like legitimate choices

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