A Doll’s House review – sex, drugs and Romola Garai in a heroic Ibsen update
Almeida theatre, LondonAnya Reiss packs the marriage scandal plot with inspired ideas, from convincing talk of Instagram to a look at sexual dynamics in the crosshairs of contemporary capitalismWho would...
By Arifa Akbar · The Guardian Culture
Almeida theatre, London Anya Reiss packs the marriage scandal plot with inspired ideas, from convincing talk of Instagram to a look at sexual dynamics in the crosshairs of contemporary capitalism Who would Henrik Ibsen’s Nora be in 21st-century Britain? Would her husband, Torvald still be a bank manager and she his “little squirrel” housewife? Transposing this drama of 19th-century proto-feminism into the present day is a tricky business, partly because the gendered confinements of Nora and Torvald’s “ideal” middle-class marriage are built on thoroughly old-fashioned values: a husband who prides himself as the sole breadwinner, a wife who would spark social scandal if she left her marital home. Adapter Anya Reiss does a heroic job of reimagining this story for modern times, and half pulls it off. Continue reading...