Almost immediately after its debut in 1879, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House was a success. Initially premiering in Copenhagen, the show spread to other major European cities and eventually worldwide. The play follows Nora Helmer, who realises her subservient role not only in her marriage but also in society.
Its popularity came from its progressive themes, which tackled revolutionary ideas about marriage and gender roles. Ibsen’s writing was also heralded for its realistic style, departing from the melodramatic and romanticised plays of the time. However, what may have been most shocking for its audiences, and remains so to this day, is the play’s ending. Nora makes the radical decision to leave her family in pursuit of her own identity and independence.
This is where A Doll’s House Part 2 picks up, answering our questions about Nora’s next steps. This sequel, written by Lucas Hnath, explores the aftermath of Nora’s departure and her return 15 years later, where she encounters her estranged husband, now-adult daughter, and the family’s former nanny.
Perth audiences will have the opportunity to explore this next chapter in Nora’s life with A Doll’s House Part 2 coming to the Blue Room Theatre this month. Alison van Reeken steps into the role of our protagonist Nora, ‘Ana Ika plays the now young adult daughter who has her own perspectives on her mother’s return, and Julia Moody is Anne-Marie, the family’s nanny who holds strong feelings about Nora’s actions. Ahead of the show’s opening on June 13, we spoke to Ali, ‘Ana, and Julia about their relationship with the original production, their perspectives on this piece, and what insights they can provide us on their characters.
A Doll’s House Part 2 is presented by Red Ryder Productions. Photography by Cole Baxter.
What drew each of you to this piece? What’s your relationship with Ibsen’s A Doll’s House?
Alison: I was drawn to the piece because I like to play people who do things I don’t think I could do! I played a pilot once because there is no way in my mind that I could fly an F16, but this character could, and it’s cool to pretend for a little while that you’re that kind of person!
I don’t think I could do what Nora does; she’s amazing. The strength to step away from her marriage and weather the fury that that incites—I don’t think I could do that. I’ve always been too much of a people pleaser—lol. I was also drawn to the text; it’s super clever. I love lots of words and ideas, debates, characters wrestling verbally, and that is this play.
I had never done A Doll’s House, but I knew it and respected it. We read it a few times in rehearsals, and it’s grown on me heaps, but I suppose that’s inevitable because I love Nora so much, and it’s her origin story!
‘Ana: When I read Emmy’s scene in particular, I was absolutely like—I have to do this. It’s such a pleasure to play a complex woman in a script with other complex women. I mean A Doll’s House is a classic. When I read it for the first time and read the lines towards the end where Torvald says something like, “no man would sacrifice his honour for the one he loves.” And Nora says, “Thousands of women have.” That blew my mind when I read that at like 18, so to explore what happens when the woman who left 15 years ago returns.
Julia: I was drawn to this piece because I first watched a BBC version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House when I was a teenager, and back then, I was fascinated by the story. Ibsen’s 1894 play seemed very relevant to the 1970s feminist issues I was experiencing: he is such an exquisite storyteller, and the character of Nora was immediately recognisable. A Doll’s House Part 2 carries on this tradition with a resounding resonance in the 21st century. Also, who could resist the opportunity of working with such a superb cast and creatives, all led by the inspirational Emily McLean?
Alison van Reeken plays Nora in A Doll’s House Part 2 presented by Red Ryder Productions.
Alison, how do you see Nora’s personal evolution since she left 15 years ago?
Nora says quite early in the play when asked about what she has been up to, “I’ll tell you what, I’m not the same person who left through that door; I’m a very different person.” So yes, she has evolved a lot in those 15 years. It’s tricky talking about the play as it has several very cool reveals which really add to the fun of watching it, so I don’t want to give too much away. But she has found a career and had success within it, she has her own money and house. She has made a life for herself, and she has only returned because that life is at risk of being taken away from her. In the original, we see the fighter she is and the clever resourcefulness she possesses (she won’t let Torvald die and goes to great lengths to get the money required for his survival), but it is all contained within the structure of her marriage. When she leaves, she is able to find who she is outside of being a daughter, wife, or mother. And I think she finds something that is very interesting and relatable to a modern audience.
‘Ana, Emmy was just a young child when Nora left. How do you perceive her relationship with her mother?
I think Emmy sees Nora as just the mother who left, and left her father absolutely devastated. I don’t think Emmy knows what their relationship was really like as we see it in A Doll’s House (Part 1), and I don’t think she knows much about Nora at all, other than what her brothers have told her and what she’s imagined. The relationship between them is non-existent.
Julia, Anne-Marie remained as the children’s caregiver over the past 15 years. What do we know about her beyond this fact? Did you have to do some exploration or fleshing out of this character to learn more about her?
In ADH2, we see so much more of Anne-Marie’s character: finding out how much she gave up to raise not just Nora but also Nora’s children. Her life is now fully enmeshed in the Helmer household. She says: “Torvald is all I have in this world. My only family.” Her role in the family has changed over the 15 years, and one of the challenges of playing her is finding the reality of being a servant but also being the caregiver and one could even say mother figure for the family in Nora’s absence. Finding that balance between mother, woman, and servant within the wonderful quick-witted, resourceful character that Lucas Hnath has created has been my main challenge and delight.
‘Ana Ika plays Emmy in A Doll’s House Part 2 presented by Red Ryder Productions.
Alison, can you tell us about Nora’s relationships with each of the characters and the nuances you bring to their interactions?
In a play where nothing happens, i.e., there isn’t much ‘action’, so much happens! The given circumstances are huge: a woman returns to her former home and firstly sees the woman who was basically her mother, the woman who raised her. Then she sees the husband she left, and then she sees her daughter who she has had no contact with for 15 years and who has grown into a young woman. It’s massive. There is great affection with Anne-Marie, her surrogate mother. But there is wariness on both sides. Anne-Marie has stayed with Torvald, and it’s not clear where her loyalties lie. Torvald is surprised to see her and behaves in a very strange way. Nora is pissed off at him for a reason I don’t want to reveal but also needs his help, and that’s tricky to negotiate. What is it like to have to rely on someone who you’d rather not see again but who is the key to your freedom? And Emmy, her daughter, is not someone she wants to see because it is too painful. She has left her children to fight for a better life for women, and the cost to her is a relationship with her children. The only way to manage that was to disappear from their lives, for there to be nothing, zero contact, because somewhere in between would be cruel, to her and the children. She has cut herself off completely, and seeing Emmy reminds her of everything she has missed. It’s very painful.
‘Ana, due to her age, Emmy is drastically different from how Nora left her and is now in her late teens and engaged. How do you approach portraying Emmy’s feelings about marriage?
Emmy’s upbringing and parents’ marriage (or lack thereof) has absolutely influenced her wants and decisions. I think, as a child, seeing her dad’s loneliness taught her to want anything but that, so my approach for Emmy included a lot of imagining and listening to music and just anything to kind of be in that daydreaming space that I feel she was in for a long time. I think the idea of marriage and this future that she wants for herself is this thing that she’s dreamed about for so long and absolutely wants more than anything, which I think is true for a lot of people in a way—we just want to be loved, and it’s nice to play someone who is so about that.
Julia, what has Anne-Marie sacrificed for this family over her time with them? How do you interpret her feelings towards Nora on her return, given her loyalty to the family?
Anne-Marie has sacrificed her independence and her own family life to remain as a servant to the Helmer family. She had no choice but to take up the position as nursemaid to baby Nora, and once Nora left, her loyalty to the job and family made her feel she couldn’t leave: “It was my job, Nora, if I hadn’t done what I did, three very young children would have been left alone.” I think she loves Nora, loves being in her company, and she is proud of Nora’s accomplishments but is truly challenged by Nora’s belief system and selfishness.
Julia Moody plays Anne-Marie in A Doll’s House Part 2 presented by Red Ryder Productions.
Alison, do you find Nora to be a relatable person? Do you think today’s audiences approach her with more empathy and sympathy?
Absolutely, it’s a very modern play, it doesn’t have much to do with the late 1900s at all. And I think that’s Hnath’s point; what’s changed? Not much, unfortunately. Yes, women now have equal rights to a divorce and can work, that’s different, but we still don’t earn as much as men, we still do most of the child-raising, cleaning, and cooking, and the rates of domestic abuse are terrifying. It’s been a horrible week in Perth. Our design team and Emily have chosen to really lean into the ambiguity of when the play is set. We’ve followed silhouettes from the original’s era but added modern touches. We really want to make people ask, ‘Is this then or is this now?’, because it can be both. And I think many of today’s audience will empathise with Nora; she’s a very modern character. She is a freedom fighter who is attacked for stepping outside of the accepted norms, and we still see that happening today.
A Doll’s House Part 2, presented by Red Ryder Productions, opens at The Blue Room Theatre June 13.