The play was performed in 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 productions in Berlin and Copenhagen.[12][13] On 20 April 1891, the first British performance of the play occurred, at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, starring Elizabeth Robins, who directed it with Marion Lea, who played Thea. Robins also played Hedda in the first US production, which opened on 30 March 1898 at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York City.[14] In February 1899 it was produced as part of The Moscow Art Theatre's first season with Maria F. Andreeva as Hedda.[15][2][3][4]
A 1902 production starring Minnie Maddern Fiske was a major sensation on Broadway, and following its initial limited run was revived with the same actress the next year.
Many prominent actresses have played the role of Hedda: Vera Komissarzhevskaya, Eleonora Duse, Alla Nazimova, Asta Nielsen, Johanne Louise Schmidt, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Eva Le Gallienne, Elizabeth Robins, Anne Meacham, Ingrid Bergman, Peggy Ashcroft, Fenella Fielding, Jill Bennett, Janet Suzman, Diana Rigg, Isabelle Huppert, Claire Bloom, June Brown, Kate Burton, Geraldine James, Kate Mulgrew, Kelly McGillis, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Jane Fonda, Annette Bening, Amanda Donohoe, Judy Davis, Emmanuelle Seigner, Mary-Louise Parker, Harriet Walter, Rosamund Pike and Cate Blanchett.
In 1970 the Royal National Theatre in London staged a production of the play directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Maggie Smith, who gained much critical acclaim and won a Best Actress Evening Standard Theatre Award for her performance.[16] Also in the early 1970s, Irene Worth played Hedda at Stratford, Ontario, prompting New York Times critic Walter Kerr to write, "Miss Worth is just possibly the best actress in the world."
On 26 February 1972, Hedda Gabler was played at the Theatre in the Round, New Vic, Hartshill, Stoke on Trent.[17]
A 1973/4 Royal Shakespeare Company world tour of the play was directed and translated by Trevor Nunn, and starred Pam St Clement as Bertha, Patrick Stewart as Eilert Lovborg, Peter Eyre as George Tesman, Glenda Jackson as Hedda Tesman, Timothy West as Judge Brack, Constance Chapman as Juliana Tesman, and Jennie Linden as Mrs. Elvsted.
In 1975, a film version directed by Nunn and starring Jackson was released as Hedda, for which Jackson was nominated for an Oscar.
British playwright John Osborne prepared an adaptation in 1972, and in 1991 the Canadian playwright Judith Thompson presented her version at the Shaw Festival. Thompson adapted the play a second time in 2005 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto, setting the first half of the play in the nineteenth century, and the second half during the present day. Early in 2006, the play gained critical success at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds and the Liverpool Playhouse, directed by Matthew Lloyd with Gillian Kearney in the lead role. A revival opened in January 2009 on Broadway, starring Mary-Louise Parker as the title character and Michael Cerveris as Jørgen Tesman, at the American Airlines Theatre, to mixed critical reviews.
In 2005, a production by Richard Eyre, starring Eve Best, at the Almeida Theatre in London was well-received and later transferred for an 11½ week run at the Duke of York's on St Martin's Lane. The play was staged at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater starring actress Martha Plimpton.
In April 2009, a modernized New Zealand adaptation by The Wild Duck starring Clare Kerrison in the title role, opened at BATS Theatre in Wellington. It was lauded as "extraordinarily accessible without compromising Ibsen's genius at all."[18]
In 2011, the performance of a production of the play as translated and directed by Vahid Rahbani was stopped in Tehran, Iran.[19] Vahid Rahbani was summoned to court for inquiry after an Iranian news agency blasted the classic drama in a review and described it as "vulgar" and "hedonistic" with symbols of "sexual slavery cult."[20][21]
In February 2011, a Serbian production premiered at the National Theatre in Belgrade.[22]
A 2012 Brian Friel adaptation of the play staged at London's The Old Vic theatre received mixed reviews, especially for Sheridan Smith in the lead role.[23][24][25]
The play was staged in 2015 at Madrid's María Guerrero. The production, which received mixed reviews, was directed by Eduardo Vasco and presented a text that was adapted by the Spanish playwright Yolanda Pallín with Cayetana Guillén Cuervo playing the lead role.[26][27][28][29]
Tony Award-winning director Ivo van Hove made his National Theatre debut in London with a period-less production of Ibsen's masterpiece. This new version by Patrick Marber featured Ruth Wilson in the title role and Rafe Spall as Brack.[30]
In 2017, a ballet interpretation of the play premiered at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet under the direction of Marit Moum Aune.
In January 2019, Richmond Shakespeare Society staged the third production of Hedda Gabler in the Society's history. Hedda was portrayed by Amanda Adams and Judge Brack by Nigel Cole.
Since May 2019, the play has been staged in the National Theatre, Warsaw, with Hedda portrayed by Wiktoria Gorodeckaja.[31]
In February 2023, the play was performed at Mulae Arts Factory (문래예술공장) in Seoul, South Korea. Director was Song Sun-ho (송선호).
