How much does a dream sustain a life? Will one make use of that dream at any cost even if it is largely a lie?

The Wild Duck explores through five acts the bond between the dreamworld and life's joy or pain. The play opens at a dinner party hosted by Hakon Werle at which his son Gregers Werle makes his return home after a long absence. The Werles are closely tied with the fortunes of Hjalmar Ekdal, a past classmate of Gregers, and of Gina who was once employed as their housekeeper. Gregers is angered by the realization that the house of Hjalmar and Gina, now married, is set upon a foundation of lies traced back to his own father.

Gregers wishes to liberate Hjalmar however costly this might be since in this case imprisonment is insulation. In the background, a wild duck limps strangely. It is fondly looked after as a memorable hunting prize, but its permanent woundedness and artificially crafted home rather make it an object of pity no matter how happy it might feel. The suspenseful play hinges delicately on a man's balance between lie and life and his visitor who is bent on upsetting it. How fragile are the wobbly props on which the entire weight of a life is set? As for each of us, how much of the wild duck is in you?