Theatre review: A Doll’s House Part 2 dives adeptly into heady musings on marriage and independence
On a stripped-down set, actors dig into a followup on Ibsen’s classic
Melissa Oie in A Doll’s House 2. Photo by Javier Sotres
Western Gold Theatre presents A Doll’s House Part 2 from November 9 to 26 at PAL Studio Theatre
IN 1879, HENRIK IBSEN unveiled A Doll's House, introducing Nora, a proto-feminist heroine. The play's groundbreaking conclusion sees Nora defying societal norms, leaving her stifling marriage and children behind with the slam of a door. Fast-forward almost 150 years to A Doll's House Part 2, Lucas Hnath's continuation set 15 years later in the narrative. In an energized, stripped-down staging of Hnath’s script, Western Gold Theatre transforms its intimate space into the family home, inviting a close, almost forensic inspection of Nora’s past marital dwelling and the aftermath of the exit that resounded around the world.
Now a successful novelist chronicling her own marital dissolution under a pseudonym, Nora faces Victorian society's backlash for her outspoken stance against marriage and in favour of women's independence. Threatened by a conservative, blackmailing judge, she discovers her ex-husband Torvald never actually filed for divorce. To dodge scandal and legal issues, bound by the era's laws, she returns seeking help from family servant Anne Marie and her estranged, now adult daughter Emmy to persuade Torvald to finalize the annulment.
In a snug square set, enclosed by thin, hanging wooden elements defining the house's boundaries (including the iconic door), the four characters navigate the repercussions of Nora's past decision. Director Seamus Fera, attuned to the limited space, brings to life compelling debates on marriage and self-actualization. Guided by the minimal setting of two chairs and an ottoman, how characters freeze, circle each other, or choose to sit resonates with the evolving dynamics in the dialogue—the beating heart of the play.
Sustaining an energy reminiscent of a boxer sizing up her opponent in a ring is Melissa Oei’s Nora. She delivers lines with a rapid-fire self-assurance. Even after charged exchanges with Torvald or a reunion with her daughter, her steely determination rarely waivers. Tom McBeath plays Torvald with a Victorian gentleman's tight restraint. His small ways of undermining Nora, like the dismissive remark "I read your little book," carry echoes of the patriarchal figure he once represented for Nora, while the subtle, quivery modulations in his voice bring light to the emotional wreckage hidden underneath.
Tanja Dixon-Warren, Western Gold Theatre’s artistic director, embodies the dutiful Anne Marie with a touching mix of world-weariness and lightheartedness, having raised Nora’s kids at the expense of her own children. Hnath’s script includes deliberate anachronisms—expletives like "shit" and "fuck," not common in the 19th century, and they land best as the old-fashioned Anne Marie laments the difficult position Nora has placed everyone in. Emmy’s utterly nonchalant attitude towards her estranged mother also works well under Tebo Nzeku’s sly and confident delivery, and instead of a forced mother-daughter sentimental reunion, we get one of the play’s more interesting moments when the two women debate their opposing positions about marriage.
Barbara Clayden elevates the play’s themes through her costume design. The expected—Anne Marie’s and Torvald’s conventional, class-appropriate attire—and the surprising—Emmy’s playful, yet sensible, short bloomers and Nora's daring crimson dress, scandalously unveiled as pants—both align with the tone, and help reinforce it.
The bare-bones set and the cozy atmosphere of Western Gold Theatre offer a down-to-earth space to digest the heady musings on marriage, independence, and relationships within A Doll’s House Part 2’s script. Speeches offer much to chew on, and under Fera’s guidance, the talented cast sustains a grounded momentum throughout.
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