A Doll's House

by Amy Herzog

Ibsen's celebrated play thrust drama firmly into the modern age when it premiered in 1879. Now nearly 150 years later acclaimed playwright Amy Herzog makes the story of Nora Helmer freshly relevant. Herzog's thrilling compact and contemporary adaptation runs a mere 110 minutes.

Genres: Plays

96 pages, Paperback

Published December 20, 2023

About the author

Amy Herzog is an American playwright. Her play 4000 Miles, which ran Off-Broadway in 2011, was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her play Mary Jane, which ran Off-Broadway in 2017, won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play.

Reviews

[Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Herzog's Ibsen
A review of the Samuel French / Concord Theatricals paperback (December 20, 2023) adapted from the Dano-Norwegian language original "Et dukkehjem" (1879).

TORVALD: And it's that simple, huh? You just walk away from your most sacred duties.
NORA: To you and the children, you mean?
TORVALD: Yes, I do mean that. But maybe you no longer consider those sacred?
NORA: I have another equally sacred responsibility.
HELMER: T0 -
NORA: Myself.* See Footnote.

I was going to see Amy Herzog's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House this weekend at Canadian Stage here in Toronto, but due to a severe winter storm we exchanged our tickets for later in the week. That gave me time to source and to read Amy Herzog's new playscript in advance.

Herzog still sets the play in its 1879 Norway setting and the script does pretty much follow the Ibsen line by line. It is punchier though and modernisms are sprinkled throughout. There were usually 1 or 2 on every page. These were nothing dramatic, just turns of phrase such as "I was gutted", "He dumped me", or single words such as "creepy", "weird", "sloshed", "buddy", "giddy", and "huh."

Torvald's infantilizations of Nora as "a little skylark" and "a little squirrel" become "bird", "baby" and even the nickname "Birdie". Of course a few modern day crudities are added, including one F-bomb, a "damn", a "bastard" and a "bitch".

For the economy of modern day stagings, the porter character (and the Christmas tree) and the maid character are dropped. Three children become two. The macaroons become cookies. This all helps to simplify and tighten the action. Herzog provides two versions of the tarantella dance rehearsal scene, one with a hand-clapping accompaniment and one that allows for music (live or recorded) if a production wants it.


Laura Condlln (Kristine), Gray Powell (Torvald), and Hailey Gillis (Nora) in Canadian Stage’s A Doll’s House 2026. Photo by Dahlia Katz sourced from a review at Front Mezz Junkies.

I have the sense that the Toronto production will be quite thrilling and exhilarating. I'll report back with an addendum after seeing the play.

Footnote
* Contrast Herzog's adaptation with a standard translation such as the one by R. Farquharson Sharp from 1923 in the Public Domain:

HELMER: It’s shocking. This is how you would neglect your most sacred duties.
NORA: What do you consider my most sacred duties?
HELMER: Do I need to tell you that? Are they not your duties to your husband and your children?
NORA: I have other duties just as sacred.
HELMER: That you have not. What duties could those be?
NORA: Duties to myself.

Trivia and Link
I added a considerable number of links to my review of an earlier 1923 translation here. Those include links to Ibsen's original and earlier translations in the public domain. A considerable list of film and TV adaptations is also provided at Wikipedia.

[Devon Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

would do anything to see Jessica Chastain do this

[Kennedy Soong Bouchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read the text to make sure my review of the performance vs the original Ibsen text was correct. It was.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable new(er) version of A Doll’s House from Amy Herzog. It’s been a while since I read or saw a more traditional or older version of the play, so I don’t really know everything that Herzog cut or adapted. I do know that if I were thinking of producing this play I would likely go with this version and my contemporary audience would thank me for it. It gets to the heart of things, raises the important philosophical questions, and will not challenge anyone’s weak bladder waiting for a break to use the restroom. A win-win.

[Emma Steiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this play, and this edition gave me such a deeper understanding and connection to each character. Overall left thinking about how adaptation and translation is so difficult. Definitely Herzog’s hand in very visible in this edition, especially with its modern language. But it IS an adaptation? I wish there was an Ibsen translation that wasn’t super modern or super archaic. Sigh.

[Laur · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the quotes in my storygraph entries were my favorite moments.

I like this shorter version, it still hits all the hard hitting questions but without as much dancing around the issue

Would have been fabulous to see Jessica Chastain at the helm of this play

[Kerry Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, you need to be aware of the basic plot in order to appreciate how Herzog has adapted the story. Best to read a faithful translation first.

[Jordan Muschler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still one of the greats. Herzog brings her lovely sense of humor and a more frank sexuality to the text which only enhances it.

[maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lurve

[Steph Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love how Nora was written in this version. And I love female empowerment!

[Abby Epple · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a reread for me, I love this play and Nora as a character. Ibsen is great to read but not so great to watch so this was a #fire reminder that I actually do love this play.

[Kat Hawthorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

very good retelling, still not my fave story but that’s honestly mostly to do with the original !!