The Rondo Theatre Company in Bah is to take a fresh look at Henrik Ibsen’s popular and timeless classic A Doll’s House this March, reimagining it in 1950s Britain.
Ibsen’s modern masterpiece, which scandalised Victorian society, focuses on the seemingly perfect marriage of newly appointed bank manager Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora.
Their domestic serenity is turned upside down by a terrible secret from Nora’s past which threatens to shatter the facade of her marriage. Amid her turmoil at the prospect of being discovered, Nora makes decisions which have lasting implications for her home, her marriage and her life.
Local Director Andrew Fletcher has given the production a vintage twist, setting it in the mid-50s, when Britain was emerging from post war austerity but before the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
He explained: “A Doll’s House is timeless because it deals with themes like marriage, power and money which are as relevant now as they were 140 years ago and also because Ibsen’s dialogue is brilliantly simple.
“I wanted to set A Doll’s House in the mid 1950s to imagine Nora in an era where women were beginning to enjoy greater consumerism following post war austerity, but still had relatively traditional roles in marriage. The setting works really well from the point of view of Nora’s relationship with Torvald, who himself has been changed fundamentally by the war.
“It makes for a great production for both connoisseurs of Ibsen and those with a passion for the look and feel of the 50s”.
Fletcher is working with Melksham based company G Plan, who are lending the production pieces from its Vintage furniture range, designed by British fashion designer Wayne Hemmingway and sold exclusively by John Lewis.
Fletcher continued: “The challenge with designing and staging a play in the 1950s is that much of the original furniture and clothes look their age. Having pieces of G Plan’s Vintage Range means we are able to imagine the Helmers’ 1950s apartment as it might have been. We have also been able to make new costumes, using vintage patterns, and other dressings which make for a fantastic design”.
Production Details:
A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen (translated by Kenneth Mcleish)
The Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath
Wednesday 26 to Saturday 29 March 2014, 7.30pm
Tickets £10 (£8 concessions)
Available from Bath Box Office, www.bathboxoffice.org.uk, 01225 463362
