Oswald, standing in the doorway then, the pipe in his mouth, it was as if I saw his father alive again.

Mrs Alving is preparing for the opening of an orphanage, built in memory of her late husband. Her beloved artist son Oswald has returned from Paris to honour the occasion. But his long awaited homecoming rapidly descends into tragedy as his presence triggers the exposure of a dark story of hypocrisy and betrayed love.

Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, in this vital new version by Frank McGuinness, premiered at the Duchess Theatre, London, in February 2010.