Writer: Henrik Ibsen
Director: Jake Murray
Christmas Eve in the Helmer house. The excited Nora Helmer (Hannah Ellis Ryan) enters laden with presents in a carefree excited manner. Nora’s immaturity and position in the house is highlighted in her interaction with husband Torvald (Danny Solomon) and friend Christine Linde (Heather Carroll). Household status is established with having a maid Anne-Marie (Wynne Potts).
A delightful change of pace with Dr Rank’s (Robin Kingsland) entrance, an old family friend. The appearance of Krogstad (Michael Blair) introduces another atmosphere and so the plot thickens. First performed in 1879 in Copenhagen, Ibsen has been hailed as the father of modern drama and this play shows why; it raises universal questions and issues applicable to societies world wise, exploring the plight of women, marriage, love and the need to be true to oneself. The audience comes to see why Nora, this disillusioned housewife, unhappy with her husband, says “I only feel my life is unspeakably empty”.
Strong character acting and good staging, furniture and costumes (Bori Iszlai) add to the tightness of this production; wonderful for a local travelling show to have a set (Louis Price) complete with flats and working doors and the subtle continuous tick tock (Chris Neville-Smith) adds a great sense of period. The stark whiteness of the set seems a little harsh for a Victorian room; the piano taking an upstage centre spot would be unlikely to have the unsightly back facing such a smart room, when it would be so easy to cover it and it is odd there are no lamps in the room. While all action is in the same room, there is no variation in the lighting (Mark Turner) even when an oil lamp is brought in.
The company endeavours to employ local talent, yet Carroll’s slight local accent was somewhat out of context with the rest of the cast and sometimes lacked clarity. The solid purity of the text and almost timeless principles behind the story are still a joy to hear and obvious why it stands the test of time.
This is the Michael Meyer translation produced by the Durham-based Elysium Theatre Company founded in 2017 by Murray and Solomon. The company brings new and classic work to the northeast that may not otherwise be seen and, judging by the audience, there is an appetite for it and definitely appreciated. Murray leads a Q&A after the show joined by some actors, which is also appreciated as it gives added insight to the company and play.
Reviewed on 13th October 2022.
