Nora, Ingmar Bergman's stripped-down version of Ibsen's A Doll’s House(the modern translation is by Frederick J. Marker & Lise-Lone Marker), has been running in L.A. for the past four months. That a 134-year-old, musty drama could become a hit is a testament to the PRT's stellar production.
Working in an intimate black-box space, PRT's cast of five--Bergman having eliminated children and servants from the Ibsen original -- is able to plumb the depths of Nora’s main characters and bring out their contradictions.
Jeanette Driver plays Nora, the seemingly childish wife of the upright, hidebound banker Torvald (Brad Greenquist). Scott Conte is Nils Krogstad, the disgraced lawyer who has secretly loaned Nora money and attempts to blackmail her. Martha Hackett is the grimly desperate widow, Mrs Linde; Bruce French, the dying family friend, Doctor Rank. Together these gifted actors bring the play to life in vigorous fashion, catching the audience up in its power and relevance.
Nora is, in essence, a story about a married couple living in a collaboration of illusions. Torvald is ultimately unable to shed his ingrained attitudes, unlike Nora who finds a way to grow in stature and courage, and make that last, defiant break from the doll's house of female conformity.
Director Dana Jackson has mounted a lightly stylized production that matches Bergman's lean, taut text; her use of music, lighting and period costumes is equally impressive and effective for this little gem of a play.
