A Doll's House

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – A Doll’s House

Playwright – Henrik Ibsen adapted by Amy Herzog

Production Company/Theatre space – (professional) Theatre Calgary, Max Bell Theatre, Werklund Centre.

Length – 2 Acts, 2 hours 30 mins (one 20-minute intermission)

Genre/s – Drama

Premise – A mother who borrows money to save her husband’s life makes an inadvertent legal error putting her at odds with her husband and exposes herself to blackmail by a bank employee.

Why this play? Why now? – A classic that has contemporary relevant issues.

Curiosities – Why does the snow blow in when the door is closed? Is this symbolic of her walking into a metaphoric storm? What would this have looked like as a contemporary drama?

Notable Moment – There are some lovely moments of unbearable tension.

Notable writing – Ibsen’s play has been produced for over 150 years and, as everyone remarks, is still relevant. Ibsen spoke strongly against A Doll’s House as being a feminist play, but Amy Herzog didn’t seem to get this nugget and rang this bell quite loudly. The end seems overwritten once the decision has been made.

Notable performances – Alexandra Lainfiesta as Nora shows how richly she deserves the trophies on her shelf. The challenge is for the men to deliver fully rounded men and not “bad men” and they did. Torvald is beautifully played by Daniel Briere, as is the doctor by Marcus Youssef; both were perfect.

Notable design/Production – Setting Norma in a literal doll’s house, Designer Amir Ofek’s set consists of color saturated Tiffany blue walls and an oversized Barbie pink sofa. The starkness didn’t support the domestic background of the play. The ceiling ring of neon lights looked out of place, but Ralamy Kneeshaw’s costumes were spot on.

Notable direction – The show opens with a stage tech crossing the stage to place the only embellishment – a large Xmas tree up left and pulling down the white parachute drape that covers the set. This was theatrical but set a tone that curiously wasn’t carried out. Director Anita Rochon only had two doors, a central entrance, and an oversized sofa to work with so to vary the action she has the Nora and Torvald sit cross-legged on the floor which looked antithetical to the period.

One reason to see this show – A timeless classic done well that had the audience on their feet.