A Doll's House

by Tanika Gupta (Adapter), Henrik Ibsen

Niru is a young Bengali woman married to an English colonial bureaucrat – Tom.

Tom loves Niru, exoticising her as a frivolous plaything to be admired and kept; but Niru has a long-kept secret, and just as she thinks she is almost free of it, it threatens to bring her life crashing down around her.

Tanika Gupta re-imagines Ibsen's classic play of gender politics through the lens of British colonialism, offering a bold, female perspective exploring themes of ownership and race.

This edition is published for the first time in Methuen Drama's Plays For Young People series, aimed specifically at students aged 16-18 to perform and study.

Genres: Plays

104 pages, Paperback

Published June 10, 2021

Reviews

[j bhakta · Rating 5 out of 5]

the only version of a doll’s house that matters, genuinely so beautiful what the hell

[Tutankhamun18 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant retelling of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House set in 1879 Calcutta. At times funny, at times sad and always clever, I really enjoyed reading this play that integrates themes of colonialism alongside the classical themes of power, gender, class, wealth, purity and apperance from Ibsen’s novel.

[holly ó · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME. loved it wayyy more than the original and i love tanika gupta

[Reeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

eng 277 postcolonial women writers

[a hooded figure from your friendly neighbourhood dog park · Rating 3 out of 5]

OKAY, a 'miracle of miracles' HAS happened and I've finished listening to this even though every time Toby Stephens' character spoke, I wanted to punch him in the face. It's VERY hard to feel this way about a fave actor! XD

I'm not familiar with the original play and I'm not planning on reading it, but I think Tanika Gupta has enriched it by putting it in the colonial Indian context (even if it's all so bleak, there is female friendship and sort of hope at the end -- I expected more senseless tragedy). The ending scene is VERY powerful and all of the actors have done amazing job with the material.

[Anastasia Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

"No debt, no borrowing. A home built on borrowing casts a long shadow on all who live within."

"...You neither think nor talk like the man I want to share my life with... I've been living with a virtual stranger..."

"Both you and I have to change to the point where we could make a real marriage of lives together. Where you accepted me for what I am, for who I am, and where you respected my beliefs and trusted my judgments. But I don't believe in miracles anymore."