Doll's House Update

Together with the rest of the nation, Nora is beginning to understand that borrowing money is not such an uncomplicated matter after all. She is desperately looking for someone to bail her out, while Krogstad is struggling to keep his job at the bank. Kristine Linde has been laid off, and has come to town in search for a new job and a better life, while Dr Rank is well aware that he is dying from cancer. In the background Torvald, Nora’s husband, thinks that life is just wonderful.

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As always, there’s a lot happening at the MET. Ibsen’s “Doll’s House”, which changed the history of theatre in 1879, is getting a contemporary, American makeover. Even though the play was more shocking in 1879, it is still a very relevant piece of theatre, and it fits surprisingly well into today’s American society.

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Tad Janes, Gené Fouché, Vibeke Havre and Michelle Simms warm up with the Doll's House kids. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Why modernize, you may ask, if it’s more shocking in its original context? A Doll’s House was not written as an historical piece; on the contrary, it introduced realism to the theatre. Ibsen wanted the audience to identify with the actors, and feel that the stage was an extension of their own living room.

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So, in Ibsen’s spirit, it was decided to translate the play into modern American. As there are no modern translations of a Dolls House available, the MET asked if I wanted to translate it into modern English. This was an opportunity I could not turn down. I started working on the translation in April, and by the end of July the first edition was ready.

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Vibeke talks about a scene with Lena Janes, Sophie Stratyner and Nadya Downs. © 2008 Joe Williams

On the 15th September I came Frederick and started adapting the play to modern American together with the cast: Gené Fouché as Nora, Brian Irons as Torvald, Julie Herber as Kristine Linde, Jim Page as Nils Krogstad, Reiner Prochaska as Dr Rank, Michelle Simms as Anne Marie, and the director: Tad Janes. First of all we have Americanized the text, all the time making sure that the character’s intentions are the same as in the original.

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Director Tad Janes. © 2008 Joe Williams

To make the play more appropriate for today’s American society, we’ve made some changes to the original script. Dr Rank is not dying from syphilis, as this illness is no longer as widespread as it was at the end of the 19th century. And instead of having the Helmers going all the way to Italy, we have chosen a country closer to the United States. As a result, Nora’s Tarantella has been substituted with another dance. These adjustments are all aimed at making the script more relevant to an American audience. Although it may seem like we have changed a lot, we have only added a couple of sentences to the original script, changed some words and cut some parts.

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Gené (Nora) and Julie Heber (Kristine Linde) rehearse. © 2008 Joe Williams

This Saturday we started working on the scenes with the children. We have 7 kids that will alternate, performing two at a time. We started by improvising the scenes with the children, who all are excellent performers.

This far the process of adapting the piece has been an absolute joy, thanks to great teamwork and the wonderful people at the MET. It’s great to see how the play transforms into a contemporary American piece of theatre!

- Vibeke Havre, the MET’s Norwegian affiliate