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Today’s society may find ‘House’ foundation weak

By Daily Bruin Staff

Feb. 27, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Today’s society may find ‘House’ foundation weak

Henrik Ibsen’s play shows female as doll

By Jennifer Richmond

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Nora was just a doll.

Unfortunately that doll-like quality doesn’t play as well today
as it did when the characters of Nora and Torvald Helmer first
appeared on stage in the 19th-century productions of Henrik Ibsen’s
"A Doll’s House."

Ibsen paints the picture-perfect lifestyle for Nora and Torvald
in his play, currently being performed by the Actor’s Co-op at The
Crossley Theater. But after the first act, the cracks in their
strong lifestyle begin to show, finally shattering to pieces in the
last scene.

Nora, played by Rachel Sheppard, desperately loves her husband
Torvald, played by Mark Henderson. She’d do absolutely anything for
him, regardless of the sacrifices. But eventually her secrets
become too much and her perfect facade falls apart.

Sheppard plays that role to perfection. She plays the ideal wife
with skill, acting out every one of Torvald’s wishes and playing
the simple little fool in need of shelter from the harsh, cruel
world outside.

Sheppard doesn’t simply play the fool, though. She drops just
enough hints to show the audience that Nora is more than a doll
there for her husband’s enjoyment. She’s a smart woman who has some
shrewd business sense. She knows just how to get what she wants and
often does.

Sheppard’s ability to switch from the giggling little "bird"
that her husband loves to a manipulative woman full of mystery make
all the scenes intense. She puts the audience at ease with her
innocent act and then catches them off guard with her dark secrets.
She pulls them into the scene by creating an overwhelming sense of
curiosity as to what Nora’s secret is and why it’s put her in so
much danger.

By the end of the play, Sheppard has shed the little girl
persona to reveal a grown woman who loses her own identity and no
longer recognizes the man she’s shared a house with for the past
eight years. This metamorphosis not only shocks Torvald, but also
the audience, who hates her decision to leave him.

But Sheppard’s drastic change wouldn’t have such an effect if it
weren’t for her partner. Henderson’s Torvald is every bit the
domineering husband who’s more interested in social status than his
wife’s reasoning. He’s constantly scolding her for spending too
much money or for eating sweets. He dresses her up for company and
speaks to her in patronizing tones. He believes that Nora is a
child he must protect, which is why her secret upsets him so
much.

When Nora suddenly becomes a threat to him, he treats her as a
common criminal because his status is at stake. Henderson shows no
emotion at putting her out. He may love her, but he can’t risk his
position for her mistake. Once she’s been absolved of this crime,
however, she suddenly becomes the apple of his eye.

While Henderson plays these mood swings well, the situation
comes off as comical when it should be serious. And it’s through no
fault of the actors. The play makes a point that, while shocking in
the 19th century, the issues that the play presents would be
accepted by most people today.

It’s simply too hard to believe that Torvald would disregard
eight years of true love for a debt that Nora incurred to save his
life. The idea of a woman disobeying her husband thereby seriously
upsetting him may have been a real possibility in the late 19th
century, but in today’s day and age, the idea seems illogical.

Lines that would have been shocking then now seem funny. And
while the idea of a woman leaving her husband because she’s sick of
being treated like a doll was unheard of then, the same act is
common practise today. Her actions make sense, especially after the
husband proves his hypocricy when he suddenly forgets all his
misgiving once his status and position are out of danger.

Although the acting overall is stellar, Ibsen’s play has become
dated. It now means something entirely different than it did when
first produced, over a century ago. And unfortunately, that is the
play’s fatal flaw. It’s not that the Actor’s Co-op’s is a bad
production, it’s just that the play doesn’t mesh with today’s
society.

STAGE: "A Doll’s House." Written by Henrik Ibsen. Running
through March 31 at The Crossley Theatre. Performs
Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. TIX: $15. For
more info call: (213) 964-3586.

Mark Henderson (left) and Rachel Sheppard star in the Actor’s
Co-op’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s "A Doll’s House."

Comments to [email protected]

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