When taking on a great classic, one is always conscious about how it will be received. My intention is not to offend the many Ibsen devotees out there, but rather to lovingly shave the text around the edges, to focus it and to intensify the focal point of the play. Ibsenwas a man who was troubled by a numerous social issues which could oversaturate the text and make the progress of the play slow at times. The inner monologues have been visualised rather than vocalised as written. The flow of some of the dialogue has been edited to suit the more contemporary ear although we’ve kept the language the same to accentuate the surrealism of the world as we present it. I hope you find my edits lovingly placed.
Although not intended by the author, A Doll’s House is hailed as a feminist play which still raises relevant questions in our current society with regards to gender politics, materialism of modern life and the equality between the sexes. As we approach the play a second time*, our aim is to look upon the individual’s quest for the picture perfect life. The characters struggle with their sense of identity and life purpose as they realise that their perfection was merely a façade, and that there have long existed cracks beneath a smooth surface. Perhaps a message to us all is not to be blinded by the gloss and glamour of the magazine shelves. Michael Mayer, an English translator and Biographer, said this play is about “the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is and to strive to become that person.”
And as you leave the studio to go and grab a glass of wine and perhaps chat to someone you haven’t seen in a while, have a think about what Nora faces as she leaves the house. As the sun creeps up over a sleepy Norwegian town, what does she do next?
Mari Rettedal-Westlake
Creative Producer & Dramaturgh
*A Doll’s House was first performed at the Space in November 2010.