In an effort to add to the layers and nuances of our assigned texts, we seek out performances that can convey as many messages as can be mustered within the term. In that vein, we scouted the Lyric Hammersmith's production of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. It is no longer as common as it used to be to find a mainstream performance of one of Ibsen's "societal problem" plays, so we consider ourselves quite lucky to have had the opportunity to watch this production.

The play was directed by the newly appointed Artistic Director of the Lyric Theatre, Rachel O'Riordan, as her inaugural project in her new post. By mounting an Indian treatment composed by Tanika Gupta of Ibsen's Norwegian classic, O'Riordan was exhibiting the very brand of courage for which she was hired by the Board of the Lyric Theatre in the first place. To add to her display of audacity, O'Riordan also used Indian actors to play Indian parts as well as authentic Indian music. O'Riordan's calculated choices added rich layers of colonialism, class politics and racial politics to the already thorny theme of gender inequality upon which Ibsen's seminal piece was originally predicated.

I believe the students appreciated the performance and learned a substantial amount, not just from the literary perspective, but also from that of the theatre conventions and the productivity of collaborators. We hope to be able to repeat this experience with other productions. Have a read of some of the thoughts of our students on this production here in Students Write:

Last Wednesday, 18th September MYP4&5 went to see an adaption of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House by Tanika Gupta. It was set in Calcutta in 1879, rather than Norway of the same year, where it was originally set. We watched this play because we have been studying the works of Ibsen in our language and literature classes. 

We really enjoyed it because the historical period in which it was set made the story engaging for those who are fascinated by history, the ingenious style and design of the production held great interest for those who study drama. The story and characters were extremely compelling, and were accompanied by an underlying theme of deceit building tension up to a satisfying ending, prompting thought for social change.

Alfie and Sophie (MYP5) 


Henrik Ibsen’s seminal play ‘A Doll's House’ has been adapted by a playwright called Tanika Gupta and has been directed by the Lyric Hammersmith’s new showrunner Rachel O’Riordan.  Set in 1879 Calcutta it is about a young Indian woman named Niru who is married to an Indian colonialist named Tom. When an unpaid debt comes back and finds her, Niru is worried that when her husband finds out about the debt their marriage will collapse.  At the end of the play Niru tells Tom about the loan and decides to leave Tom despite their eight years of marriage. The play’s main theme is feminism but also carries heavy themes of racism and social inequality and is a good example of a classic play adapted into the modern era.  

Tom, (MYP 4)