Ruth’s blood, sweat and tomato sauce: Actress says playing Hedda Gabler is like is like ‘a workout on stage every night’ Ruth Wilson says that playing Hedda Gabler in Ivo van Hove’s incendiary production at the National Theatre is like ‘doing a workout on stage – every night’. She added that van Hove’s take on Henrik Ibsen’s tragedy is like ‘nothing I’ve ever been part of before’.