Written by Lucas
Hnath
Directed by Caroline
Stacey
A Street Theatre
production
The Street Theatre to
23 June
Reviewed by Len Power
15 June 2019
Ever since the door slammed at the end of Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A
Doll’s House’ in 1879, the powerful play has continued to resonate with
audiences around the world. The study of
a Norwegian woman, Nora, who breaks free of the restrictions of marriage in a
male-dominated world to seek the self-fulfilment that has been denied her, is
still remarkably valid today.
‘A Doll’s House, Part 2’ is American writer, Lucas Hnath’s day-dream
about what might have happened to Nora after she slammed that door on her
life. The play had a respectable
Broadway run in 2017 and was nominated for 8 Tony Awards including Best Play. His play, ‘Hilary and Clinton’, is currently
running on Broadway.
In ‘A Doll’s House, Part 2’, Nora returns to her husband’s
home fifteen years later. Self-assured
and clearly prosperous, she nevertheless has a problem that requires a favour
from her husband. How will he respond to
her request after all those years?
Without giving anything away, Hnath’s play poses an intriguing
situation which involves Nora’s husband, Torvald, her aged former nanny, Anne Marie,
and her now grown up daughter, Emmy. The
bitter memories of the past rise quickly to the surface and create an explosive
tension.
 |
| Rachel Berger and PJ Williams |
Hnath’s play provides rich characters for the four
actors. As expected, Nora is now nothing
like the woman we knew from the original play.
Rachel Berger gives a believable performance of a strong, confident
woman who still carries some baggage from the past. PJ Williams displays a real depth of feeling in
his performance as the damaged Torvald who is still bitter about the break-up
of his marriage.
 |
| Lily Constantine |
Camilla Blunden gives a finely nuanced performance in the
role of Nora’s former nanny, Anne Marie, and Lily Constantine as Nora’s grown
up daughter, Emmy, is excellent as a young woman who displays the strength and
self-assurance that her mother was incapable of during her marriage.
The attractive setting and fine costumes are by Imogen Keen. They are complemented by a subtle and
effective lighting design by Gerry Corcoran.
There are jarring moments in Hnath’s script where the actors
use four letter words as well as other modern day expressions. The actors drink from plastic bottles of
water occasionally and there are other non-verbal and musical anachronisms as
well. I suppose this is a device to show
that a play set in 1894 still has contemporary relevance but it’s not subtle and
reduced the believability of this period story.
Overall, the director, Caroline Stacey, has given this intriguing
play a handsome production with fine performances.
Photos by Shelly Higgs
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.