List of 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 Aftermath 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 Peer in Africa – Zimbabwe 183 Peer Gynt on the Giza Plateau Between cultures Coda: From Dhaka to Mabou Mines Notes Bibliography Index

An intricately layered exploration of the complex relational connections that contribute to the construction of a global “Ibsen” … Helland’s vivid and engaging prose is one of the volume’s greatest attributes, as his explanations of each production’s aesthetics are meticulously detailed, almost novelistic, in their style … Ibsen in Practice functions as a valuable text across disciplines, providing not only exacting explorations of Ibsen’s plays in performance around the globe, but also demonstrating the power of precision in analyzing the contextual influences at work in the transfer of canonical literature across cultures.

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 that of China and Zimbabwe, India and Iran. Through the discussion of productions of Ibsen on four continents, Frode Helland explores how Ibsen is created through practice and his status as a classic is maintained.

Methuen Drama Engage offers original reflections about key practitioners, movements and genres in the fields of modern theatre and performance. Each volume seeks to challenge mainstream critical thought through the introduction of original and interdisciplinary perspectives to the body of work under examination. Contributions to volumes will challenge existing critical paradigms and do so in an engaging and accessible manner that will open up fresh approaches and suggest avenues for further exploration.