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Lavish period drama Hedda will be arriving on the small screen very soon after being released in cinemas. Amazon Prime Video will be making Hedda available to its subscribers on October 29, after coming to cinemas in the US on October 22 and the UK on October 24. The film is based on Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 play Hedda Gabler, but has been reimagined by director Nia DaCosta. Hedda has been given an update and is now set in the 1950s and sees American star Tessa Thompson in the title role. Hedda’s former flame Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss) - the character was male in the original play - unexpectedly turns up to her party to see if she still has feelings for her, opening up the door to chaos. Explaining her decision to move Hedda from Norway to 1950s England, director DaCosta previously told Deadline: “When I wrote it, I thought about making a more contemporary film, but I didn’t want it to be present day, and that’s why I landed on the ’50s. It’s a decade we’re still connected to.” DaCosta said her story was more about the characters’ interiors rather than their exteriors. Many viewers are curious to know about the filming locations for the drama, with the central setting of Hedda’s luxurious country manor serving as another character. Hedda was filmed primarily at Flintham Hall in Flintham, Nottinghamshire, which is a Grade I listed stately home. The grand house was built on the site of an older medieval and Jacobean house, which was rebuilt in 1798. This was later renovated with an Italianate style in 1853/7 with Ancaster stone encasing the existing buildings. The impressive conservatory, built of stone and glass, stands at 40 feet high. Flintham Hall isn’t open to the public but has been used before for filming, including the Noel Coward classic Easy Virtue, Sherlock Holmes’ The Master Blackmailer, When Did You Last See Your Father?, and now Hedda. The estate features extensive gardens, including a walled garden, an aviary and a 10-acre lake with two islands, according to the official Flintham Hall website. The film’s production designer Cara Brower was tasked with finding the location and noted that DaCosta was “extremely specific” in her scripts about what she wanted for the film, including a grand staircase, a lake, a ballroom and a library, among other things. Brower scouted 200 homes and drove to many of these to see the locations in person, eventually bringing on board location manager Emma Pill to help with her search for the right place. Brower said as soon as they arrived at Flintham Hall and saw the balcony in the great room, she “just knew”. Brower added to the Motion Picture Association: “The owners thought it would be fun to make a movie there, so we came in and took over the house and transformed it.” The owners even allowed the team to repaint the walls for the film, leading them to go for some “putrid” colours and a “somewhat faded” aesthetic. Brower said of the overall feel of Hedda’s home: “It should be sexy and beautiful, but also cold.” Concluding about the experience of making the film, Brower said: “ The fun thing about Hedda was that there were no set builds, no green screen, just one location, and it was very contained.” Hedda will be released on Prime Video on October 29
