Hedda Gabler Munich at the Königliches Residenz-Theater on 31 January 1891, with Clara Heese as Hedda, though Ibsen was said to be displeased with the declamatory style of her performance. Ibsen’s work had an international following, so that translations and productions in various countries appeared very soon after the publication in Copenhagen and the premiere in Munich. In February 1891 there were two productions: Berlin and Copenhagen. The first British performance was at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, on 20 April 1891, starring Elizabeth Robins, who directed it with Marion Lea, who played Thea. Robins also played Hedda in the first US production,
The Play What I Wrote Branagh. The play proved a prolonged success and earned positive reviews. Michael Billington, reviewing for "The Guardian", wrote: "The real joy of the evening, however, is that the gags come thick and fast, producing a kind of comic delirium. Matt Wolf, reviewing for "Variety", wrote "...it’s the innocence of “The Play What I Wrote” (the grammatical inaccuracy of the title is part of its point) that represents the evening’s best calling card...the evening trades in old-fashioned verbal jokes...and visual ones." It won Foley and McColl a joint Best Actor nomination at the 2002 Laurence Olivier Awards and, although they did