Director Christi Watson presents Henrik Ibsen’s timeless play A Doll’s House at Erin Presbyterian Church. Using American playwright Thornton Wilder’s translation and adaptation as the source text, The WordPlayers’s production of A Doll’s House honors this fraught tale of radical female empowerment and navigating the unintended consequences of our most personal choices.
Jaden Lily Branson and Tyler Glover play Nora and Thorvald Helmer, a married couple at the center of the complex and secret-laiden plot of A Doll’s House. Nora, a stifled traditional housewife with an intelligence and goals that exceed the expectations of women in late 1800s Norway, struggles to assert and own her agency within her marriage. Branson plays the part well, flitting between coquettishness around her husband and her pride at her independent but secret accomplishments, such as borrowing money secretly, an act that would be met with strong disavowal and disapproval at this time. Glover portrays a strong yet loving Thorvald, a husband who is also playing his role by treating his wife as his “little creature;” the love is there, but severely misguided. Branson and Glover dance around the secrets in their characters’ marriage that leads to an explosive finale where both actors shine.
The plot thickens with the influence of the supporting characters, Christina Linden (Casey Maxwell), Nils Krogstad (Jonathan Gibson), Dr. Rank (Joe Jaynes), and nurse and housemaid Ellen (Jae Campbell). Christina tries to help her childhood friend Nora while also needing help herself, and Maxwell gracefully navigates the conflicting emotions that come with Nora’s unraveling secrets. Gibson is a fierce and threatening Krogstad, making Nora and the audience realize the potential dire consequences of her actions. Jaynes’ Dr. Rank can come across more humorous than existentially pitiful at times, but perhaps this is a fun take on a melodramatic character. And Campbell’s Ellen is in many ways the glue holding the whole family together; she lends a reserved strength to the character, perhaps more knowing of the Helmer household’s secrets than anyone else. And Nora’s children, played by Naomi Whipple and Nehemiah Whipple, storm in with all the energy of childhood Christmas wonder; their performances mirror Nora’s in many important ways and emphasize how similarly to a child Torvald expects Nora to behave.
The set is a cozy and well-furnished Christmastime scene, designed by Steve Krempasky with elegant furniture dressed in holiday festivity. The warm, inviting atmosphere contrasts nicely with the tension and emptiness between the Helmers themselves. Lots of trivial sweets-eating and indulgence becomes awash with cold blue lighting, designed by Bailee Bosclair, when tense moments occur in the plot—it’s a subtle change that contributes to the coldness of the snowy setting outside that threatens to infiltrate the characters’ hearts and minds.
A Doll’s House is nearing the end of its run, with two performances left on September 21st at 7:30pm and the 22nd at 2:30pm at Erin Presbyterian Church, located at 200 Lockett Road in the Bearden area. Tickets are available at the door or online at https://wordplayers.org/current-season/mainstage-shows/a-dolls-house-fall-2024/.
