Transcript Doll`s House lecture

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 21st 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 2011. The following pages include production photos, video clips
from the production, and interviews with the actors and director.
VIDEO CLIPS
From the Touring Production at
Emerson College in Boston,
November 2011
•Interview with Director Lee Breuer
•Arts Emerson Inside Look
•Interview with Dramaturg and
Actor (Nora) Maude Mitchell
•Arts Emerson 30 Second
Preview
•Arts Emerson Promotional
Video
Interviews with Actors, Director,
and Dramaturg
•Interview with Mark Provinelli
(Torvald)
•Interview with Kristopher Media
(Krogstad)
•Interview with Janet Giarardeau
(Kristine)
• 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?