Alice Baldan
The latest cast for Broadway’s upcoming revival of the famous play A Doll’s House has been announced, with Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain among the list of actors set to star in the show.
The reprisal of the century-old play is directed by Jamie Lloyd. It will take to Broadway from February 13th until June 4th at the Hudson Theatre in New York. Audiences should be prepared to be surprised by, not only a brand new cast but by a radical new take on the script, which has been adapted by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog.
New Cast
“the latest production of A Doll’s House will have a cast full of award winning performers”
It’s safe to say that the latest production of A Doll’s House will have a cast full of award-winning performers. Jessica Chastain will be starring as protagonist Nora Helmer, the unhappy wife of Torvald Helmer. Tony and Emmy Award nominee, Arian Moayed, will play her husband.
We will also see Jesmille Darbouze playing Nora’s old family friend Kristine Linde and Tasha Lawrence as Nora’s former nanny Anne-Marie. Finally, Michael Patrick Thornton will play Dr Rank, and Grammy-winner Okieriete Onaodowan will portray Nils Krogstad, a lawyer and the former fiancée of Kristine Linde.
Summary of A Doll’s House
A Doll’s House was published by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1879 and made its first debut at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen – just a month after its publication. The three-part play set in the 19th century follows the development of the main character Nora Helmer, the housewife of Torvald Helmer with whom she shares three children.
Reflecting the strict gender roles of the time, Torvald is the breadwinner of the family. He works in a bank while Nora assumes the role of his pretty, innocent, and submissive wife as a means to flatter him. Hence the ‘doll’ reference in the play’s title.
Nils Krogstad, a lawyer and moneylender who works in the same bank as Torvald, threatens to expose Nora’s previous forgery of her father’s signature. Nora committed this forgery to loan money to pay for her husband’s treatment as he was suffering from a critical illness. When her secret comes to light, Torvald’s fury and humiliation over what his wife’s forgery would mean for his social status show Nora his true colours.
“symbolically slamming the door of her house on her way out”
Disappointed by her husband, Nora decides to leave her conventional life to endure a journey toward independence and self-discovery, symbolically slamming the door of her house on her way out.
Main Themes
Ibsen’s revolutionary play touches upon various themes. It helped to change the idea of women and the societal roles and values of the late 19th Century bourgeois society.
A Doll’s House explores women’s sacrificial roles and worth. In bourgeois society, women were not allowed to act without their husband’s permission and were only considered worthy as their objects and properties. All of the female characters in the play had to sacrifice something for what they perceived to be the greater good.
Nora first sacrificed her own humanity in her marriage, and later her love for her children once she left her constrictive life. Kristine sacrificed her true love Krogstad to be able to financially support her brothers and mother. Anne-Marie gave up her own children to raise Nora when she was a baby.
“…appearances and societal status were used to mask the flawed reality”
It also portrays the unreliability of appearances. In Ibsen’s society, appearances and societal status were used to mask the flawed reality. The play first shows us a childish and silly Nora, while at the end we see the reality of her clever, strong, and independent character.
Torvald seems tough and benign and later reveals himself to be cowardly, selfish, and weak. Krogstad also ends up surprising us with his sensitive and kind soul, opposite to the impression he gives at the start of the play.
The production also delves into strict gender roles, with the stereotypically gendered household showcasing how both males and females suffer from the established gender norms of the time. The women in the play are expected to be housewives. They do not have the freedom to work, have a life, or make decisions of their own, leaving them unhappy, frustrated, and dissatisfied with themselves.
We also see Torvald suffering, although more secretly, from the gender role he is expected to play. While he seems happy about his life at first, we later understand that his inability to see his wife as a real person makes him unable to truly love her. This failure to free himself from the strict role assigned to his gender stops him from recognizing that his wife is more important than his reputation.
Why is A Doll’s House Important?
A Doll’s House is still as relevant today as it was at the time of its publication. It addresses the issue of women’s identity in a male-dominated society. While we do have more rights now, many of the challenges faced by Nora in the play are still faced by many women today. In all cultures and societies, women still have conformity imposed upon them.
Through the creation of a strong heroine like Nora, Ibsen made history by analyzing and criticizing, for the first time, the psychological, social, and moral reality behind the idea of a traditional marriage, inspiring women all over the world.
While times are still changing, the revolution started by Nora’s “slam heard ‘round the world” is still not finished. There is still a long road ahead before all women feel free to be independent and self-determined.
Perhaps the revival of the play will help to keep the fight for women’s rights alive.
Featured image courtesy of Josh Connor via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Alice Baldan
Alice is an aspiring environmental journalist currently based in London. She is passionate and aims to write about issues such as climate justice, animal rights, human rights, and current affairs.