by Henrik Ibsen
"...but you're dancing as if your life depended on it..."
A married woman leaves her husband and family... but it is 1879. A furore flared up not only on stage but in contemporary reaction to the play across Europe. Norah is the wife of a professional in small town Norway. She has children, a comfortable home and much else... so why go and leave even your children behind?
Ibsen wrote this winter play while living in Italy. The Italian warmth and sunny abandon of its tarantella dancing counterpoint the inhibitions of family life of the period. The dance itself is a pivotal moment.
Paring back the original and giving it an up-to-date translation, Samuel Adamson's recent (and shorter than usual) adaptation reveals Norah's predicament afresh. It precipitates an unexpected modernity.
This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk