Henrik Ibsen’s a Doll’s house FROM PAGE TO STAGE TO SCREEN: INTERPRETATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS

1973 FILM A British film directed by Patrick Garland nearly a century after Ibsen’s play first shocked audiences, this film adaptation stars venerable English actors Anthony Hopkins and Claire Bloom as Torvald and Nora. Below is a link to a clip of the opening scene. Sets and costumes are faithful to the time in which the play was written. As you watch, think about how the characters interact. Is this how we think about interaction between a husband and wife today? Patrick Garland’s 1973 film

How does the casting of these characters compare to what you envisioned when you read the play? Does seeing Torvald call Nora “skylark”, “spendthrift”, and ”squirrel” have a different impact than when you read the play? What about seeing her beg for money or watching Torvald confront her about hiding the macaroons?

2010 REBECCA GILMAN ADAPTATION We also read Rebecca Gilman’s resent adaptation of Ibsen’s play. Now let’s watch the 21 st century Helmers, Nora and Terry, have the same conversation about money that we saw in the scene from Patrick Garland’s film. This clip is from the 2010 production of Gilman’s play at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. How does this interaction compare with the one we just watched? 2010 Guthrie Theatre production of Gilman’s adaptation

2010 LONG WHARF PRODUCTION Here’s a promotional video for the 2010 production of Ibsen’s play at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT. Director Gordon Edlestein set the play in the present day, but did not use Gilman’s adaptation. Based on this video clip, what adjustments do you think he would need to make to the script? Gordon Edlestein production

MABOU MINES DOLLHOUSE In late 2003, the avant-garde theatre company Mabou Mines premiered a groundbreaking adaptation of Ibsen’s play in which all of the female characters were played by women who were close to six feet tall and all of the male characters were played by men who were no more than four feet tall. The set was like a doll house, with furniture sized for the men. Stagehands were often visible, watching the action and occasionally stepping in to lift the actors. When Nora spoke to Torvald, she had to get on her hands and knees to look him in the face, or she could pick him up. The result was a production that emphasized the ways in which the men and women in Ibsen’s play infantilized one another. The play opened at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn in November of 2003 after workshop productions at New York Theatre Workshop and the Sundance Theatre Lab in Utah. It toured in the U.S. and internationally until The following pages include production photos, video clips from the production, and interviews with the actors and director.

From the Touring Production at Emerson College in Boston, November 2011 Arts Emerson Inside Look Arts Emerson 30 Second Preview Arts Emerson 30 Second Preview Arts Emerson Promotional Video Arts Emerson Promotional Video Interviews with Actors, Director, and Dramaturg Interview with Director Lee Breuer Interview with Dramaturg and Actor (Nora) Maude Mitchell Interview with Dramaturg and Actor (Nora) Maude Mitchell Interview with Mark Provinelli (Torvald) Interview with Mark Provinelli (Torvald) Interview with Kristopher Media (Krogstad) Interview with Kristopher Media (Krogstad) Interview with Janet Giarardeau (Kristine) Interview with Janet Giarardeau (Kristine) VIDEO CLIPS

How did casting choices affect the way that we see these characters? How did the set and costume design highlight the sense that Nora is “playing house”? Once when I was describing this production to someone, they said, “That isn’t Ibsen’s play.” Do you agree or disagree? How do the directorial, casting, and design choices we saw line up with the play we read in class? What other non-traditional casting or design choices could highlight the ways that Ibsen’s play is still relevant?

Modern Short Films based on A Doll’s House “Nora Leaves a Doll’s House” This is a short South African film that uses the characters of the play and some of Ibsen’s text. Keeping in mind that South Africa operated under a system of racial segregation known as apartheid until 1994, how do you think this film potentially discusses races as well as gender? “Nora” Fresh from playing Nora in a production of A Doll’s House at the Young Vic in London, Hattie Morahan plays a contemporary version of the character in this short film. How does this modern Nora compare with Gilman’s?