Ingmar Bergman; dir: Michael Mastro.
Nora Helmer is one of those iconic fictional characters who has taken on a life of her own. In 1879, at the end of Henrik Ibsen’s new play A Doll’s House, she did the unthinkable: she walked out the front door of the house she lived in with her husband and children, slammed the door behind her, and left.
In 2014, Nora’s dilemma remains the same: how much will a woman put up with and why? And what is the alternative? Kit Brookman and Anne-Louise Sarks’ update of Ibsen’s resounding play sets Nora’s story here and now, beginning with Ibsen’s tale and then following Nora out the door and into the new life we all suppose is possible for a tough-minded woman in these equitable modern times…
Sarks makes theatre from theatre. Her stunning reworking of Medea at Belvoir in 2012 swept up awards everywhere and set a new standard for rethinking classics. Now Sarks begins her tenure as Resident Director with a show about power and freedom.