Ibsen in Practice: Relational Readings of Performance, Cultural Encounters and Power

Description

Second only to Shakespeare in terms of performances, Ibsen is performed in almost every culture. Since Ibsen wrote his plays about bourgeois family life in Northern Europe, they have become part of local theatre traditions in cultures as different as the Chinese and the Zimbabwean, the Indian and the Iranian. The result is that today there are incredibly many and different ‘Ibsens’ around the world. A play like Peer Gynt can be staged on the same continent and in the same year as a politically progressive piece of theatre for development in one place, and as a nationalistic and orientalistic piece of elite spectacle in another. This book charts differences across cultures and political boundaries, and attempts to understand them through an in-depth analysis of their relation to political, social, ideological and economic forces within and outside of the performances themselves. Through the discussion of productions of Ibsen plays on three continents, this book explores how Ibsen is created through practice and his work and reputation maintained as a classics central to the theatrical repertoire. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Illustrations Acknowledgements About the Author Introduction 1 Against Capitalist Realism: Thomas Ostermeier Hedda Gabler In the display case Violence to the end An Enemy of the People Excursus: Between cultures (Istanbul, May 2014) The relation to capitalism 2 A Doll’s House in Chile: Dictatorship and its Aft ermath In silence: A Doll’s House at the Catholic University (1980) Nora under the (continuing) neoliberal regime Teatro Nacional: Alfredo Castro (2006) Teatro la Memoria (2011) In pursuit of Nora Helmer (2012) The Chilean way 3 Ibsen under the Radar: Censorship and Artistic Expression Prelude: Double dolls in Hanoi Iran: A Doll’s House and The Wild Duck Dariush Mehrjui’s Sara The fragmented female The politics of clothing Decency and identification Tarantella The question of agency Life-lies in the theatre: My Wild Duck Ideals and critique Visual signs: The Master Builder from Beijing Concluding conjectures 4 Three Chinese Dolls Beijing Doll’s House: Nora (1956) The performance Culture and/or gender: A Doll’s House in the ‘New Era’ (Beijing 1998) The changes of the ‘New Era’ The adaptation Dancing dolls (Beijing 2010) Funding and re- funding Sino-Norwegian dance 5 Peer Gynt in Africa: Some Notes on the Dangers and Ambiguities of Interculturalism The orient in the text 8 Peer Gynt in Africa – Zimbabwe Peer Gynt on the Giza Plateau Between cultures Coda: From Dhaka to Mabou Mines Notes Bibliography Index