Mumbai-based theatre group, Surnai Theatre and Folk-Arts Foundation (STAFF) has been regularly holding Ibsen’s Festivals in Mumbai. This is the third edition of the festival based on plays by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), which were staged at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai in the first week of October 2016. Ibsen is rightly known as ‘father of realism’.
Surnai Theatre organised ‘Women’s Voices, from Ibsen’s Ink’, a festival that included, among other plays, the all-time great A Doll’s House. Historically, this play was staged for the first time in December 1879, but is relevant even today. It had raised and continues to raise some basic issues about the status of women in society, whether the society is Western or Eastern. The problems, the traps, the blocks faced by women all over the world are perhaps the same. A Doll’s House forces us all to think afresh a fundamental question: has women’s status improved today? Or are these changes only superficial and nothing much has changed at the basic level?
Theatre at its best
Surnai’s production was directed by Pushan Kripalani. It was minimalist theatre at its best. As it is, the intimate theatre of Prithvi does not offer much physical space for actors’ movements. Kripalani has used the available space to its maximum extent and directed a brilliant performance. He had equally brilliantly cast Ira Dubey (Nora) and Joy Sengupta (Nora’s husband Torvald and two other characters). These two fine actors have made A Doll’s House a memorable experience.
The play depicts story of Nora and her husband Torvald. It is about a marriage that superficially seems happy, but a critical turn of events reveals what a sham their relationship is. Torvald and Nora had some financial struggles. The play opens when they are delighted because Torvald has got a major promotion at the bank where he works. But Nora, behind her lightheartedness and childish behaviour – encouraged, always, by Torvald, who calls her diminutive, vaguely (or sometimes explicitly) insulting names like “my sweet tooth” and “little spendthrift” – is hiding a major secret.
She borrowed a substantial sum of money a few years ago to finance a trip to Italy to help Torvald recover from a major illness. She told Torvald then that the money was left to her by her father, but it was actually loaned to her by a Nils Krogstad. She has been slowly paying it back. But now Nils is threatening to tell Nora’s husband,especially since he realised that Nora forged her father’s signature as co-signer of the note. This was necessary for Nora because back then a woman could not raise loan unless there was a male as co-signer. Nora had no option but to forge the signature of her father, now dead.
Nora is a mother of three children and been married for eight years. In this version produced by Surnai, the children don’t come on the stage and remain essentially a moral obligation. Nora is working overtime to keep her husband from finding out about her crime. But then such secrets never remain a secret and in due course Torvald finds about it and expectedly rips her apart. This leads to the most famous face-off in literary world, the face-off between Nora and her husband which eventually leads to that equally famous door slam, heard all over the world!
A political and feminist play
Many argue that at heart A Doll’s House is a political play. Written in the 19th century Norway, when women had no choice, practically no legal rights about property, Ibsen focused on these burning issues and forced society to think of women as human beings. No wonder A Doll’s House is hailed as one of the early feminist plays.
This Surnai production, directed by Pushan Kripalani, is an edited version and lasts 90 minutes. The two actors have done a brilliant job. Joy Sengupta plays the roles of Torvald, Nils Krogstad and Nora’s female friend. And in all these he is superb. A domineering husband, a crooked clerk and a lady friend of Nora, Joy is convincing in these characters. And then there is Ira Dubey as Nora. This girl is a competent actor and moves on stage with supreme confidence. Music is by Pushan Kripalani who also plays the guitar. There is effective use of lights handled by Arghya Lahiri and Asmit Pathare. With these professional elements, Ila Arun’s Surnai brought to Mumbai audience and lovers of Ibsen a performance of A Doll’s House that will stay with them for months to come.
