A Doll's House: A Modern Adaptation

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Dramaturgy
A Doll's House is a naturalistic play that was written by Henrik Ibsen and originally
premiered on December 21, 1879 at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark. The play uses
the story of Nora Helmer, her husband Torvald Helmer, friends Kristine Linde, Dr Rank, Nils
Krogstad, and children Emmy, Boby, and Ivar to present the theme of male chauvinism and the
plight of middle-class Norwegian women at the time of the setting of the play. Despite its setting
in the 19th century, this play still resonates with the contemporary viewers because of the proper
way in which it was directed, acted, and produced. If I got an opportunity to direct this play one
more time, I would dedicate my time to do an excellent job.
As a new director, I would d everything within my capacity to produce an excellent play.
To achieve this, there are many aspects of the play that I will retain. At the same time, I will have
to make a number of changes that, in my opinion, resonate with the modern-day audience. The
first issue of consideration that I will have to make is about the setting. Initially, the setting of the
play was made at the Helmer’s house. Here, Nora and Torvald used the chance to engage in a
series of discussions on matters related to family, job, and life in general. In my new play, I will
not use the same setting (Chigbu, Gideon Uzoma and Chibuzo 139). I will shift from the family
house to a stage. Meaning, everything right from the beginning up to the very end of the play wll

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be done o stage. The stage will, however, be designed and equipped with all the resources that
wil make it suitable for the kind of action, thematic concerns, and the messages intended for the
audience. At thestage, the audence should get enough space to communicate and interact wih one
another (Hoenig 1524). The characters should be facing the audience ad at times changing
direction especially when engaging in a conversation. If not speaking, the characters should be
staring, listening, thinking, and engaging in relevant activities.
The new play will be acted on stage. Here, all the characters are expected to engage in the
discussion just the same way they did in the original play. The actors will have to be carefully
chosen and directed to ensure that they succeed in delivering the original message intended by
the writer. In order to make the play more appealing and interesting than it is, I will have to make
a few changes in the actors (Ibsen 12). When it comes to characterization and actors’ selection, I
will use a combination of the main and minor characters. However, I might reduce their number.
I will try to restrict the actors to six people only. These are the couple, two friends and two
children. So, after excluding other characters, I will only have to retain Nora, her husband
Torvald Helmer, friends Kristine, Nils Krogstad, and children Emmy and Bobby. Each of these
actors will be assigned roles that befit them. The actors will have to be added new roles that
resonate with their gender and stature in the family and society. Each of the actors will be given
appropriate costume that suits them and the particular roles that they play in the act. At the same
time, they will be given make-ups and hairstyles that resonate with their gender roles (Muñiz
443). Apart from this, I will make a proper use of cinematography by incorporating the use of
lighting and sound effect. I will have to use stencil colors that will keep on changing from time
to time depending on the prevailing events. The same applies to the sound track that will be
carefully-selected from the non-diegetic sources.